Iron Front:The Gallian-Imperial War
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: The year is 1946. Nazi Germany's leadership has retreated with all of its available manpower and resources to Argentina. In response, the US Military deploys a Task Force of 3 Generals and their army groups to root them out and bring them to justice. Instead, what they find may lead to their very own world being shaken to the core and another brutal war to be fought.
1. Operation Blue Dawn

_It is 1946. The German territories in Europe are under Allied occupation._

 _In one last bid for survival, known as Operation:Untergang, Hitler, the Nazi Party, 45% of the German Wehrmacht and all transferable industrial utilities are moved to Argentina, who has so far been harboring Nazi German research bases within its jungles._

 _Hearing of the development, newly-promoted Four-star General of the Marine Corps, Chesty Puller, alongside Generals Patton and MacAuliffe, are recalled to the US in preparation for counter-ops within the South-American nation. Within months, the Marines are deployed headfirst into combat and storm the beaches, while Patton's tank army and MacAuliffe's Airborne breach through from allied Brazil. In one fell swoop, the US Armed Forces enter the country... But meet little resistance._

 _Deep within the jungles, however, a German secret older than even the German nation itself awaited. A gate... One that lead to a new world._

 _New challenges, new allies, old enemies. Time to seize the day again._

 _Welcome to..._

 _ **Iron Front:The Gallian-Imperial War**_

 _ **Chapter 1:Marines and Airborne deploy. Operation "Blue Dawn"**_

A dense forest appeared ahead of the Marines of the 3rd Platoon, First Regiment. As the disorientation from transfer first passed, the oak trees ahead cleared into distinct shapes, as did the shrubs and bushes. Sergeant Brandon Hiller, of the USMC, regarded his fellow troopers as they shook off the shock of travelling through what felt like a sci-fi Stargate. The man gazed back, to see the massive construct. A blue half-circle with symbols and a spiral motif. IT was made of a material unknown to anyone back home. Whatever it was, it got the Eggheads all in a twist. And it was lit up like a Christmas tree.

Out from it, Hiller saw several more boys appear. These ones wore the uniform of the 101st Airborne. The Screaming Eagles. Leading them was Sergeant Michael Jones. Mike, for short. The Marine Sergeant grinned. He'd known Mike since he first arrived in the USA. They met back in New York and joined together after a long while. They were brothers for life ever since Mike backed him up in an argument between him and a dishonorably discharged Marine.

"You and your boys seem to be taking what feels like interdimensional travel well, pal." Hiller whispered. Mike nodded, then showed his boys to take a knee before walking up to and shaking Hiller's hand, then taking a knee beside his brother and saying "Well, we're airborne. What'd you expect? We're used to nausea and heights." with a grin. Mike had that odd, eastern-european accent. Brandon knew why a little too well. For some reason, Mike had entrusted him with a secret that could be the difference between life and death for the young Airborne member.

No time to focus on that, now. The two looked to their respective soldiers and gave hand signals. Spread out, cover the flanks and slowly creep forward. The gunfire echoing in the distance didn't bother the guys none. Both saw action. One in Japan and the other in Europe. The more raw recruits, however, got twitchy the further the teams crept along. Mike gripped his M1 Carbine tightly.

Meanwhile, Hiller carried an M1919 Browning with an extended barrel and a retractable bipod, akin to those on Nazi MG42s. The Texan grinned as he moved forward on one knee. Mike looked back to one of his comrades, then said "What do you see?" to which the man nodded and answered "Clearing up ahead, sir. I think it's the edge of the treeline. Smoke's rising from the other side."

"Probably a village, sir." Another trooper suggested. The Sergeants nodded, then gave the signal for a slow advance. As they crept up around the trees, the Snipers of the teams were the first to reach the treeline, followed by the Sergeants and the rest of the combined platoon. A village aflame lay ahead. Soldiers marched into it, clad in strange uniforms and with even stranger armor on top.

They were shooting at unarmed civilians...

"Christ..." Hiller said, in a low growl.

"Guess that's the bad guys here." Mike hummed. He checked his Thompson and then looked to his men, before showing them to scatter around the treeline. Hiller looked at his wristwatch and said "It's 10 in the evening back home... Has to be..." He paused as whistling sounded off overhead, eyes wide. He looked to Mike and both then called out "MORTAR!" as they jumped out of the way. A mortar round struck the ground, sending two Marines and a Paratrooper flying sky high, limbs missing. Machine Gun fire roared overhead and rounds from rifles impacted the treeline. Hiller looked down to see enemy troopers advancing from down the Hill. What fired at them was a tank-mounted 75mm Mortar apparently. He saw the strange Char-1B Tank copy rolling toward them.

"WHERE IN THE HELL DID THAT TANK COME FROM!?" the Marine Sergeant barked, setting up his MG and opening fire as the soldiers ahead advanced by their tank. Two men fell, gunned down by the weapon's .30 cal rounds. Mike's Thompson burped as he swept ahead of the treeline. Rounds scratched the trees, impacted off bark and even hit one of his men right next to him in the shoulder.

"BASTARDS, IN THE OPEN!" Called out Mike, gritting his teeth as his men shifted fire with their Garand rifles. One soldier's rifle clinked as the main clip ejected. He racked the bolt and swiftly slammed another clip in, locking it into place, before aiming and firing. His helmet was flung off after his second shot and he fell backward, his skull punctured by a semi-automatic rifle's round.

The tank fired again, this time from the snub-nosed 45mm in its turret. A shell launched a Paratrooper into a tree, with broken bones across his entire body. Mike gritted his teeth, then yelled to his men "GET OUR GOD DAMN BAZOOKA UP!" before ducking into cover as SMG fire poured in on'em. The soldiers kept up the fire, but their casualties were mounting. The enemy's were too.

Hiller's LMG barked continuously. He looked to Mike and yelled "COME AND HELP ME FEED THIS FUCKING THING!"

The Trooper jumped out of cover and ran beside his friend, firing the Thompson blindly. Two more of the knight-like bastards fell, gunned down. The soldier dropped to his stomach and crawled to his friend, before calling to his men "KEEP UP THE FIRE! DON'T SLACK IT OFF!" as another shell exploded wide into the treeline, sending shards of wood flying. The boy took a belt from around Brandon's body, unclipped one of the sides and reloaded the MG, holding the .30 belt up with one hand while firing with his Thompson using the other.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me..." Hiller gritted his teeth, firing his LMG at the advancing enemy unit in a sweeping motion. They heard a shell scream overhead and the tank's forward gun exploded into a blaze of fire, whilst its turret was flung clean off and whoever was inside was carbonized by ammo exploding. Two soldiers beside the tank died immediately due to the shrapnel.

"THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" One of the Marines called, then looked back to see them. Thick, olive-drab silhouettes with rounded armor and the American Army's white star painted onto their turrets. They had short-barrel 75mm Cannons and on top of them, crewmen manned 50 caliber MGs. Mike looked back, then grinned and called out joyfully "SHERMANS!" and the two boys laughed, as did the rest of the platoon while the medium tanks advanced.

"ABOUT FUCKING TIME, BOYS!" Hiller yelled as he saw Army GIs advancing beside the tanks. One of them jumped into the ditch with'em and said "29th Infantry and 5th Armored, to the rescue!" grinning.

"Took your sweet time!" Mike returned, tapping the guy on the shoulder. "Good to see you!"

"General Patton ordered a direct deployment! General Puller's orders were about the same for the Marines!" The Infantryman explained "We figured that if your Radio worked, we got a chance!"

"You called us?!" The two boys asked and looked to the radiomen of their platoons. who nodded back to them. The soldiers smirked, then Hiller ordered "Alright, boys! Good job to the Radio men! The rest of you, follow us! Advance! Watch out for other tanks!"

 ** _Bruhl Gate_**

Alicia Melchiott, captain of the town watch, ducked under a wave of assault weapon fire as rounds slammed into and around the sandbag wall at the front of the gate. She heard armored vehicles move out, among which a light tank of the Empire's. She gritted her teeth as she dragged one of her friends into cover, then looked to the wounded blonde and asked "Susie, you okay?!"

The Watch Girl gripped her bleeding shoulder and said "I'll be fine..." through tears. Alicia looked back as she heard a gargle of blood and saw one of her fellow Watchmen fall, gunned down. She gritted her teeth, then fired blindly over the lip of the sandbag wall. She yelped as gunfire came closer, more accurate, then looked to Susie and said "We'll make it, Sue. Don't worry!" before looking over the top and watching as the heavily-armored Imperial soldiers advance...

One of them exploded... His chest eviscerated by a massive bullet...

She heard rattling gunfire from a heavy machine gun and gasped, looking back to see something incredible. Soldiers clad in green uniforms, wearing steel helmets, advanced toward them, down the road. With a gasp, she saw the soldiers advancing quickly, leapfrogging from cover to cover while massive, rounded hulls of medium tanks moved, their tracks grinding against the stone pavement.

The riflemen carried semi-automatic long rifles covered by dark wood stocks. She saw one of them hauling an LMG on his shoulder, with several belts strapped to his person. Then gasped as she saw the Imperial light tank swing about, turning its turret to engage the treading medium tanks. A shot punched clean through side armor and the tank's ammunition caught fire, then exploded, leaving a twisted metallic wreck in the road while the Riflemen advanced under a hail of bullets. Two riflemen jumped into the trench beside the girls, having appeared from out of a side road, followed by what seemed to be a medic, a red cross on his shoulder and helmet.

The soldier leading them was one with a Submachine Gun that had a drum magazine... The man was handsome, brown-haired and with blue eyes. He took Alicia's hand and asked her "What's your name? What do you do here?" to which she shook her head, snapping out of her stupor, then answered "I... I'm Alicia Melchiott, captain of the Bruhl Town Watch! And not to sound ungrateful, but... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS!?"

The soldier grinned, then said "We're the US Armed Forces, Captain Melchiott! Marines and Army!"

"US?!" The girl barked.

"United States, lass!" Said the guy with the LMG as he jumped into the trench too, whilst the tanks cleared out the last of the enemy advance. "So, Mike, got who she is?"

"Captain Alicia Melchiott. Bruhl Town Watch." Mike answered, smiling, then said "Well, Captain Melchiott, we must introduce ourselves too. I'm Sergeant Michael Jones, US Airborne 101st. This is my friend, Sergeant Brandon Hiller of the United States Marine Corps!"

"Hoo'rah, Capt'n!" Hiller smirked. "The boys following us are 101st, Marines and 29th Infantry Div, as well as 5th Armored." before he looked to Alicia's teammate, Susie, who was now under care of a US Medic of the 29th ID. "Listen, who are those assholes?" the Marine then asked, pointing to the dead Imps on the floor. Alicia's eyes widened and she asked "You don't know who the Imperials are?"

"All we know is they shot first at us." Mike responded, sitting down on the edge of the wall.

"Well, they-"

"PANTHER! FUCKING PANTHER INCOMING!" Cried one of the Marines. The soldiers' eyes widened and all of them jumped to their feet. The tanks they had struggled and turned around, to greet the incoming tank... Alicia saw a faint tint of blue, then said "WAIT!" as the troopers prepared to fire. She jumped over the trench and showed the tanks to stop, then said "WAIT! THAT'S ONE OF OURS! IT'S A GALLIAN TANK!"

"Gallian?" Hiller and Mike asked in unison. She smirked, then said "That's the country you guys are in. Gallia."

"Huh... Fun." Hiller chuckled, leaning his Browning on his shoulder. He watched as, out of the top of the tank, appeared a young man with platinum-blonde hair. He had a Tank Commander's Radio set on his neck and earbuds on his ears. And he stared with eyes wide at the tanks and infantry ahead. Almost 50 soldiers and then some, with the strange tanks.

"Welkin, you guys have a tank!?" Alicia asked with a smile.

"Hey... Alicia... Who're your friends?" The boy asked, dumbfound.

Alicia looked to them, then showed them to introduce themselves. Mike stepped up first, then said "Sergeant Michael Jones, 101st Airborne." then Hiller "Sergeant Brandon Hiller, Marines. Who're ya, lad?"

"I'm Welkin Gunther. A University student." The boy nodded to them.

"With a motherfuckin' tank. He's a-okay in my book, Sarge." One of the Marines said gleefully. Hiller nodded and said "Aye. Agreed on that, Beaks." he then looked to Welkin and said "We're gathering up. The rest of our Army Group is about to arrive here and help keep these... Did you say they were Imperials?" He turned to Alicia and received a nod, before turning back "These Imperial sons-a-bitches outta your fine lil' nation by the grace of the Almighty Lord."

Welkin looked to Hiller, then said "The Imperials will be back with a bigger Army, knowing full well the rest of it was routed out of here by you... I'd suggest we head for Randgriz and regroup there."

"Mhm... Hey, Mike, say..." Hiller said, scratching his chin.

"Yeah?" The quiet Drop Trooper asked, eyebrow raised.

"This tank don't much look like a Panther to me..." the bubbly Marine smirked as he looked over the Gallian vehicle. "More like some kinda merge between one of our mighty fine Pershings and a King Tiger." and he heard the other troopers of their force laugh. Mike smiled, then nodded and said "I'll say. It's a good-looking tank. It got a name?" he turned to Welkin.

"Yeah. Edelweiss." The young man returned. Mike smiled, then said "A fine name for a tank that has its namesake flower on the turret." and he pointed at the Noble White drawing on the side of the gun mantlet. "Well, mister Gunther, I must ask... Would you lead us to this 'Randgriz'? We're not from around the bend here in Gallia and the roads are probably gonna mess with our heads."

Hiller looked to Mike with a smile, then ordered a radioman "Contact HQ! Tell'em to ready up to move! We'll have the Locals leading us to the meeting point near one'a'their Major cities!" and he heard an immediate response as the man went to work. The group turned to see Susie being loaded onto the front of a Sherman to be carried out of the place safely, with several more of the wounded.

"Alright, boys! Let's load'em up! We're moving in to RV with the rest of our Expeditionary Forces, then we're leaving for Randgriz!" Hiller ordered. Mike followed suit and called to his boys "Mount up and get comfortable, lads!" before turning to Welkin and asking "Mind if some of our boys ride Shotgun with you?" to which the boy shook his head and said "Not at all." smiling.

The Marines, Airborne and GIs mounted and as the sun set, whilst they drove, Alicia looked back to Bruhl with sadness from aboard the Edelweiss. She felt a hand placed on her shoulder, then heard Welkin say "We'll come back to it." as they drove toward a meeting point. Alicia looked to him, then sighed deeply and said "Yeah... I hope we have what to come back to..."

"We'll help with that, girl!" One of the Airborne said, grinning. Alicia heard skin and bone hit a metal helmet and then Mike's voice say "Don't be a dick, Rico." monotonely. As the sound of engines overlapped with the soldiers' voices, the squad came upon the main road... Where they saw them. Dozens of tanks, transports and Halftracks moved through. A Convoy of transport vehicles and combat vics. Mike looked back, to see two of the tanks hauling the strange, round blue gate on a trailer, covered by a tarp... And soon, he heard his fellow Airborne start singing.

" _Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die! Gory, Gory, what a HELLUVA way to die! He ain't gunna jump no more!"_ They all sang merrily... Mike chuckled, then joined and started singing too, calmly, as their tanks joined the Convoy, with the Edelweiss moving at the forefront of it all. Alicia looked over to the Airborne, a hint of worry in her gaze, then asked "What the hell are they singing?"

"I... Don't think we wanna know." Welkin mused. He then jumped back under the hatch, while Alicia watched dusk turn into night, the orange sky fading into inky blackness and the image of white stars appearing. The singing was rather soothing, save for the brutal lyrics... She drifted off, asleep on top of the tank. The soldiers aboard let her be as they sang a merry tune.

 _The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,_

 _The lines were snarled and tied in knots around his skinny bones;_

 _The canopy became the shroud; he hurtled to the ground._

 _And he ain't gonna jump no more!_

 _Gory, Gory what a Helluva way to die!_

 _Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die!_

 _Gory, Gory, what a HELLUVA way to die!_

 _He ain't gunna jump no more!_


	2. Short Street to Randgriz

_**Chapter 2:Short Street to Randgriz**_

 _ **Randgriz. Southern Battlements barracks. Early morning, the next day.**_

The early Reveille was played to awaken the Gallian personnel overseeing Randgriz' tall walls. Soldiers scrambled off their bunk beds, putting on their uniforms and grabbing weapons. Today was supposed to be an easy day, but the officers received word of some sort of heavy force heading toward them. The streets of Randgriz were active as usual, as far as General William Siegfried, commander of the Randgriz Garrison, saw. An air of urgency floated above the city. No forces reported being fired upon yet and, apparently, if reports were to be believed, leading said force was a Gallian Tank that Will hadn't seen or heard of since the Great War.

Walking up to the top of the battlements, where two snipers and a spotter for the in-city artillery batteries waited, Will received a salute which he promptly returned, before asking "Status?" to which the officer said "Sir. The unknown column should be arriving any minute now. We'll spot them through the treeline soon."

Will nodded, gazing outward to the outskirts of Randgriz and toward the snaking road that lead into the small Vasel forest. The General had been in combat so many times before in both EW1 and several other smaller proxy conflicts, as requested. Though Neutral, Gallia would have to train her men and women both in and out of combat, due to the aggressive posturing of both sides. This new unit, however. Radio calls told him that the soldiers waved at the outpost crews, smiling. None pointed weapons.

And among them, there were staff-cars. Three, to be exact, each bearing a different emblem and that White Star that was a common feature for all their units. He saw it soon... The Edelweiss lead the march. On it was a squad of soldiers, it seemed. He took his binoculars and looked over to see the other vehicles too. He immediately heard a reveille and looked to see a man sitting atop a rather large tank holding a trumpet. The soldiers soon started moving and all of them jumped off the vehicles, slinging their weapons on their backs by the straps.

The soldiers and tanks all wore similar colors. Olive drab, emerald-green and some even had cream-colored shirts and uniforms. The soldiers took off their helmets and waved at them, smiling, as it seemed. Will paused for a moment, seeing three Staff Cars roll up ahead of the Edelweiss and other tanks, whilst soldiers walked beside them. Each car had a man in a General's uniform in it. All 3 men were old, probably older than Will himself. And they all had the look of grizzled war veterans about them.

"Let them through. If the Edelweiss is here, it means these guys mean us no harm." Will smiled "Plus, their troopers are bloody waving at us and haven't drawn weapons yet."

"Yessir, General." The Officer saluted.

Down below, in the street, Four-Star Generals Patton, MacAuliffe and Chesty Puller watched as the towering walls became alive. The few Gallian outposts they'd met along the way were greeted with waves of the hand and salutes, by Mac's orders. Patton and Chesty could only agree. You don't open up two fronts of fighting, considering these 'Imperials' that the Scout Platoon led by Hiller and Jones reported were hostile to the country's civilians.

Patton looked back to the advancing Sherman and Pershing tanks, as well as one of their own Superheavy Prototypes, the T95, fondly nicknamed the DOOM TURTLE by all service men, due to its low profile, turtle-like armor angling and case-mate build, with the main 105mm Gun in the nose. It was barely coming out of the Foliage now and was slowing down the Halftracks and 1/2 Ton trucks that hauled fuel and ammo, as well as the two Halftracks that dug up and had the strange Gate propped onto a large flatbed. They were gonna need that to bring more troops in.

For now, the Early Thousand, as the Divisions that first arrived here took to calling themselves, would probably do well as a deterrent for any of the Gallian politicians trying to start a mess. An international, not to mention an interdimensional event is something both sides probably wanted to avoid. All of them had been briefed and the data seemed to point out that this Gate, which the Eggheads took to calling the 'Star Gate' would either be an interplanetary, interstellar or, most likely of all, interdimensional pathway, evidenced by where they were.

As the vehicles arrived at the southern gate, the Edelweiss stopped first, followed by the Staff Cars. Patton, Mac and Chesty got out of their respective vehicles as the gate ahead opened and Mac looked to them, before saying "The Frenchies say they wanna send over some divisions." to his fellow generals. "Help us in our little endeavor while their many armed forces deal with the 'Nip forces left in China and Indochina."

Patton sighed, then said "Of course, they want to. What did Truman tell them?"

"Said we're thinking about it." Chesty responded, placing a cigar in his mouth. One of the troopers in the back played First Call on his bugle to awake the boys still asleep on the tanks, then the Reveille for the full wake-up detail. Patton looked back and said "Get me 12 GIs to go with us as escort! Looks like we're playing politicians now!" to which the Bugle man saluted and moved out to gather a few soldiers.

The trio of generals watched as, out from the gate appeared a slightly younger man, clad in a dark-blue General's uniform akin to theirs. It had a dragon's head crest on it. The man himself was slightly taller than Patton, but Chesty had the man beat. He also had several medals pinned in row across his chest, several of which seemed similar to modern-day medals of the US army. He had smoothed black hair, jet-black eyes and a scarred gash on his right cheek, as well as a rather short beard.

The general leading the wall garrison saluted the three US Generals, then said "I'm General William Siegfried. Let me be one of the first to welcome you guys to Gallia."

"Pleasure to meet you, General Siegfried." MacAuliffe said. "I'm General Anthony MacAuliffe, commanding the US Army Air Corps forces deployed into Gallia." and he then motioned to his associates "These are Generals George S. Patton and Chesty Puller."

"Army and Marine Corps, respectively." Patton finished Mac's message, then added formally "Barring the army behind us, General Siegfried, we're here to talk to your people about possible cooperation between our two armies."

"We should talk more inside. Explain our situation to him and his superiors in better detail." Mac suggested, to which Chesty and Patton nodded. William gave the trio an odd look, then said "I think I'm not in the position to decide any sort of alliance with you guys. Politics and whatnot. You'll want to talk to the actual overall commander of the Gallian forces and the Princess."

"Princess? This place's a constitutional monarchy?" Chesty asked, his left brow quirking up. William nodded and said "Yep. Pretty much. Though our politics are sadly run more by the other royal families and the princess' regent. Prime Minister Borg. Hereditary power gain, instead of voting, pretty much, though the 'elections' that are happening are genuinely rigged." he then crossed his arms. The trio of generals could tell the man was no fan of this 'Borg' and that neither would they be.

"Presume your officers and other generals are poorly-trained?" Patton asked, taking out his pipe and placing it in his mouth, before lighting it with his golden, engraved lighter. Will just now noticed the man had two pistols with pearl grips in two leather holsters that were clipped to his belt. Will sighed, then nodded and said "The head commander of the Gallian Defense is an absolute moron. Cost us half of our territory in just two weeks."

Patton coughed, then took his pipe from his mouth, blew the smoke down and said "You can't be fucking serious! How is that bastard in command of ANYTHING here but a Latrine!?" to which William shrugged and said "Politics, like I said."

"Oh, we're gonna have some cleaning up to do here." Patton looked to his fellow generals with a hint of anger. "Whip this God-damn country into shape." before he turned to Will and asked "What about you, General? Any victories we should know of? Or failures?"

"Early into the war I managed to repel an enemy Panzer unit with my own. The 25th Armored. And in EWI I was a pretty good soldier serving alongside one of our most trusted Militia Generals" Will said proudly "Helped a few more civilians evacuate from a city now under Imp control."

Patton grinned, then said "Ah, a man who knows the art of armored warfare. I have a feeling you and I will get along just fine, General."

"Let's hope so." Will nodded back with a similar grin. "Now, come on."

"Sirs!" Patton heard Sergeant Jones' voice. Mac and him turned about to see the young man with 11 others joining him. He saluted, then said "I and my boys will be your escort for today." to which MacAuliffe said "Welcome aboard, boys. Good to have you."

"Lead the way, General." Patton said to Will. The group walked to a Jeep, then their driver moved through the streets of Randgriz, toward what seemed to be a massive Palace right down the main South Boulevard. They saw people staring at them with surprise, fear maybe. Some smiled as they saw the new soldiery moving through. Patton took a puff from his black pipe, then said "Your people're looking at us funny, General."

"They're probably scared." Will noted.

"We ARE a foreign military. Only makes sense we'd frighten the bunch." Chesty noted, cigar in his mouth. Arrival at the front of the palace was uneventful, but several guards came to greet them. William took to talking to one of them, a young female with long, light-brown hair that was neat and tidy, bright blue eyes and doing pretty well in the curves department.

She looked to the three generals and their escort, then to the man and nodded, smiling. She and the guard stepped aside as the US forces walked up the azure steps. The soldiers soon walked inside, to the sight of the great blue halls of the Randgriz Palace. Many a servant and Guardsman moved about, more so within the Main Hall. The large Palace throne room was filled with art pieces and politicians that milled within the confines. At the center, atop a line of azure-colored stairs, lay a large throne, occupied by a single girl with a rather large dress and a silver wig.

Mike froze for a moment, staring at the dark-blue-eyed beauty before him, mouth slightly agape. Patton, MacAuliffe and Chesty all turned to the boy, with two of Mike's soldiers noticing how the Princess or Queen, whatever she was, was seemingly staring much the same way toward the Airborne Sergeant. Patton chuckled, then said "Well, damn. Can royals even fall in love with lowly peasants?"

"It either just happened, or there's something about Jones we don't know yet." MacAuliffe returned, smiling. Chesty chuckled as he recalled what he'd been told by Hiller. All the stuff he spewed while being under threat of being busted down to private. Thankfully, this was only between him and Hiller, so nobody else overheard it. Mike had a bigger role to play here, believe it or not.

He didn't know it yet, but he did. Oh, boy, did he.

* * *

 ** _AN:Okay, so I noticed I posted this chapter a bit prematurely, so considering, I'm gonna put an AN(as you can see) to outline the plans._**

 ** _I and Blazblade are working together to come up with ideas for this story and one of these ideas is an OC that's recurring from two other stories(One of which was deleted) as well as his family, who will be in Squad 7. Will Siegfried will be Damon's main political opponent for Gallian Army Chief of Staff in the defense of Gallia. The Siegfrieds are generally the Good Guy Royal Family, as in they genuinely want Gallia to work out fine on its own or alongside any actual allies(Hence the USA and the rest of the Allied Nations) that will join them in the war. What with the agreement that's about to be signed._**

 ** _The Hunt for Hitler is also gonna be a side-quest and possible series of omakes within the chapter, or chapter bits themselves, where an OSS agent joins the Seventh Platoon alongside Mike and Hiller. That's gonna be a bit of tension for Mike since... Well, I won't spoil anything. IT just has to do with a certain Royal Family member that died rather recently and him doing a certain cameo in this story. You'll see what I mean around Kloden._**

 ** _Also, the USAAC, United States Army Air Corps... Boy, oh, boy, are the Imps gonna shit their pants when they see a P47 Thunderbolt I barreling toward them with a full arsenal of HVAR rockets, bombs and 8 M2 Brownings. The Air Force will play a major role in Gallia as combat progresses and we may even see Gallia take to forming their own Air Corps with lend-lease planes, until they can home-produce some. B29s are gonna be a pain for the Imps too. All I'm saying is a certain few cities in the Empire may cease to exist._**

 ** _Also other volunteers may show up from non-allied nations, maybe even Comintern._**

 ** _Well, that's about it for this. Thanks for listening and sorry for the chapter being so short. I'll try making the next one longer(I just don't like sitting through making Political Conversations, so bear with me there)_**

 ** _'Till next time! Toodles!_**


	3. The 101st Deploys

**_AN:I don't own Band of Brothers or Valkyria Chronicles. The Characters and combat, be they real or not, portrayed here are just for show, not meant to offend anyone. This is out of respect to the men of the 101st Airborne, the Battered Bastards of Bastogne. God speed and may they all rest easy. In this Alternate Universe none of the injuries or deaths shown in the Band of Brothers series have occurred and thus E-Com is at Full strength.  
_**

 ** _Blame me for wanting to save some of my favorite guys from the 101st's Easy Company. CURRAHEE!_**

 ** _Chapter 3:The 101st Airborne Deploys_**

Sitting around campfires set up outside the Gallian Capital, US Armed Forces looked over drawn maps of Gallia handed to them by Regular forces that were working as Battlement Guards. Half the god damn country was under Imp occupation, with most of it being colored in red. Hiller looked over every detail whilst the US forces settled up. Orders from the Generals said that they shouldn't unpack yet, not until they got permanent residence somewhere within Gallia's military infrastructure.

Easy Company, 101st Airborne Regiment, was among those few units that were brought in with the First Thousand. Major Winters, having just hit 27 years old, looked over maps with his fellows from E-Company. 'Bull' Randleman was the first to speak "Sir, this is lookin' more and more like another Holland..." his Texan accent thick, to which Winters sighed and said "I agree. Let's hope this goes better than the last one, though."

"Doubt it's gonna go half as bad, sir." Perconte hummed. "You saw these Imps' tanks. One of them couldn't take a Sherman shot."

"It was a light tank." Winters noted, looking over the maps over and over again. "Liebgott, get me Speirs. Tell him and his men we're hitting the floor at 0800 and moving for this town a few kilometers outside of Randgriz. Mullow, I think it's called."

"Think the Generals got the talks done, sir?" Liebgott asked, to which Winters nodded and said "Yes. No small country refuses aid from a bigger military force. And I'm sure the Generals have explained to everyone the situation that our militaries find themselves in. Now, get to Speirs. I'll take Easy Company and mobilize as soon as the Generals come back." before he heard the massive gates open to their left. "Speak of the devil."

The seventeen people that walked out included the Generals, Sergeant Jones, that Gallian General, Siegfried and a young woman who walked beside Jones, her long, straight hair silver, her eyes a deep, dark blue. She wore a uniform of military origin, bright, bright blue and with no medals pinned on her chest, just a row of gold from her hip up to her shoulder.

"Generals, on-deck!" Called the COs of each Company. Men swiveled about, dropping what they were doing to salute. General Patton stepped up first, then said "At ease, men! Listen up!" and he watched as the men eased off and looked at him as as Michael stepped up beside him with Princess Cordelia, who actually smiled at seeing the US Military lined up neatly.

"This is Princess Cordelia gi Randgriz, the heir to the throne of the country we find ourselves in. We have discussed the terms of our agreement with her, her Regent and her advisers." Patton explained, looking at the men, arms behind his back. "We will provide direct military aid to Gallia's armed forces, which includes us supplying, aiding and fighting side by side with the Militia and Regular forces of the Military in exchange for them allowing us to operate from their homeland in our Hunt for Hitler's Nazi Remnants. To cut the explanation bull, I believe the Princess has something to say to all of you." and he turned to her, before bowing and saying "Your Highness."

Cordelia nodded curtly, then said "Thank you, General Patton." before she took two steps ahead and looked to the soldiers "In the name of the people of Gallia, its army and the Noble Houses that rule it, especially my own, I thank you with all my heart for joining us in this fight. The Empire has threatened the independence of Gallia ever since we have freed ourselves with a revolution led by my great grandfather almost 6 centuries ago. To have allies in these troubling times, be they old or made with such haste as we have today, is a blessing upon me and my people. Thank you once again. Gallia will forever be deeply indebted to you all and your motherland for the war you are about to undertake with our men. May victory be swift and may our friendship only bloom from here onto the future."

And with that, she bowed. The Infantrymen clapped, all of them together as Cordelia straightened and smiled. She looked to Mike and nodded to him too, before looking to the General and saying "I shall return to my quarters. Fort Amaranthine is marked on the map we gave to you. May you safely reach it and may we see each-other in good health again, General Patton, Generals MacAuliffe and Puller."

"A fine day to you as well, ma'am." Patton tipped his M2 Helmet with a smile as Cordelia walked away under escort from General Siegfried. Mike walked up to Winters, saluted and said "Sir. Easy Company, Platoon 03, reporting for duty." with a smile on his face. Winters saluted back and said "Good to have you back, Sergeant. We're having Easy Company mobilize before we head for the Fort. Got a small town to liberate, a crossroads."

"Platoon 3's ready to go, sir." Mike nodded, gripping his Thompson. "Talk to MacAuliffe about it, sir?"

"I'm about to." Winters nodded. "Dismissed, Sergeant. You and your men join the rest of Easy." he then said, before stepping off toward the Generals. Bull walked up to and hit Mike over the shoulder, taking the boy's attention from staring at a still-walking Cordelia to him, then asked "You doin' alright, Mike?" to which the boy nodded and said "Uh... Yeah, I'm fine."

"That there lady looked interested in you." Bull smirked, motioning to Cordelia. Mike rubbed the back of his neck and said "Probably just a friend she's after... Life in the palace can be pretty boring..." He said with a gripping melancholy, then soon jumped to, realizing what he must've sounded like and corrected himself "I mean, I imagine so. Can't know for sure."

"General MacAuliffe, sir." Saluted Winters as Mac walked up to them. The two Airborne spun about and saluted.

"Major Winters. Boys, at ease. Walk with me, Major." Mac Saluted, then said "I heard from your men you plan to go through into a Gallian town and secure it."

"It's at the edge of a forest sir. Apparently, a lot of Imp forces are concentrated there. It's also a crossroads town that would give our Armored forces a straight shot into the Wildwoods there should we ever need such a path, as well as several other hotspots in Gallia." Winters explained as the two walked together. MacAuliffe nodded, then said "I see your point, Major. Securing that town would be a strategic victory for all of us. I'll let the rest of the Brass know of your idea and see if I can't secure you two of Patton's Pershing tanks, or at least a Sherman."

"Thanks, sir. Armored support would be appreciated, but if no vehicle can be spared, we'll deal with it the old fashioned way." Winters nodded respectfully. Mac smirked, then said "This is why I like you, Dick. Straight and to the point. I'd have made you one of my top staff by now if I didn't think half your Division would be on my case constantly about it." before saluting and saying "Make us proud, Major. And show the Gallians and Imps how we fight."

"Sir." Winters saluted. Mac walked off to join his fellow Generals aboard their staff cars as the convoy once again prepared to move. He looked to the 101st's E-Com and ordered "Easy Company, form up! We're moving off to Mullow! First Lieutenant Speirs, I'm taking command."

"My pleasure to leave it to you, sir." Speirs said with a nod, racking the bolt of his Thompson. The group boarded some trucks and awaited for the order to move out. Mike waved and nodded to Hiller, smiling, to which the Marine smiled and waved back before boarding his truck to Amaranthine. As the first hour passed, the Convoys both crept along their roads, with two Pershings having joined Easy on their trip to Mullow. On board the lead truck, the Major looked to his men and said "Remember! No unnecessary damage of property! Tell the tanks to use machine guns on infantry and nothing more unless we need to destroy an MG nest!"

"Sir! I'll radio them now, sir!" John Toye said, nodding to the Major. As the five trucks moved ahead, followed by the tanks, the Airborne felt on edge once more. Combat was long and arduous during '44-'45. '46 would just bring about more German shit to throw their way. Knowing Hitler's bullshit, the man would be in this East Empire, rebuilding the Nazi Party and preparing for some kind of coup.

The treeline appeared ahead, but one of the many large roads that led toward it stopped in a small town in front of them. There were no lights on in the town as night began to fall. No windows open. Not one thing moved aside from the trucks... Winters showed Toye to call in a halt, then made the appropriate hand signals. 'Get out, ready weapons and prepare for ambush'. Easy Co. disembarked from the Deuce and a Half trucks and grabbed weapons, slowly creeping up through the fields around Mullow in a loose formation. The Pershing tanks followed not too far behind, edging ever closer, with the Commanders manning the M2 Brownings mounted on the top Cupola.

Perconte and Toye kept themselves at a distance, with the Radioman updating the tanks on what they saw. A light finally brightened Mullow's main street, a single, still-working lamppost, followed by a few lights within the town's houses, resembling of Germanic-style houses from back in Holland. Winters raised his balled right fist, showing a Halt, then took out his binoculars, gazing through into the town. A patrol of lightly-armored soldiers, wearing dark-red caps with a crossed swords badge on the forefront ,walked through, led by a man in a dark-red armor and uniform and with a shoulder badge.

"Enemy Patrol, on main street." Winters whispered, still looking through his binoculars... He saw the Officer and his infantrymen halt. Several of them were grinning... And the Officer waved at Winters, directly... The Major's eyes widened. He looked back and screamed at the top of his lungs "INCOMING!", drawing out the cry to no avail, as it was drowned by the Artillery shells that fell around them.

Several Imperial Light Tanks suddenly appeared, the barrels of their 75mm Low-Velocity mortars still smoking. Imperial Infantry appeared from the buildings, with mounted Machine Guns that resembled WW1 guns. Then they opened fire. Machine Guns raked the fields that Easy Company was in, striking the trucks and some of the men. Winters growled, then raised his hand and said "LET'S MOVE! WE HAVE TO GET TO THE TOWN! WE'LL BE SLAUGHTERED OUT HERE! TOYE, GET THOSE 50S FIRING ON THE BUILDINGS! EVERYONE ELSE, GO, GO, GO! FIRE AND MANEUVER! SPEIRS, GET YOUR MEN OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE AND FLANK AROUND WITH ONE OF THE TANKS AND 3RD PLATOON! BUCK, WITH ME!"

"Sir!" The two officers said, scrambling to their orders as their men returned fire vehemently. The 50s on the Pershings rattled and smoke blasted off impact points from the massive rounds around the windows where the MGs were mounted. Imperial Infantry advanced and fired with everything in their arsenal, while the Light Tanks moved in a reverse V formation, with two at the front and the main one at center and back.

"SIR! PERSHINGS ASKING TO KNOW IF THEY SHOULD OPEN FIRE WITH THE MAIN GUNS ON THE ENEMY TANKS!" Yelled Toye, firing with his M1 Carbine. Winters looked to him and barked "DO THEY NEED TO ASK PERMISSION AGAINST ENEMY ARMOR?! FIRE AT WILL!" as they advanced, leapfrogging from irrigation ditch to irrigation ditch. The M3 Brownings carried by the squad were manned and gave suppressing fire almost immediately.

Mike advanced with Speirs and his Platoon on the left side, while the Pershing tank 'Sweet Marcy' moved with them, its commander firing the 50-cal in a continuous stream, so much so that the barrel had begun to turn red while he swept across the walls and windows. Speirs and the platoon busted through into a side road and opened fire on a squad of Imperials that they saw ahead. One shell struck an Imperial Light Tank advancing toward them, splitting it in half due to the power of the 90mm Gun mounted on the Pershing.

"Fuckin' A!" Called out one of the soldiers in Mike's squad, grinning. They soon saw the Imperial Troops, those few that still survived, scrambling... Retreating? Their officer(The one in red, presumably) had just been killed by Shrapnel from the tank. Mike paused for a moment, kneeling and watching the enemy retreat while the boys emptied on them... Then realized and looked to Speirs "Holy shit, Lieutenant! I think these guys are Conscripts, Imperial Volkssturm or something! I don't think they even saw training, sir!"

"They're trained enough to fire their weapons at us, Sergeant! Keep up the advance!" Speirs ordered, before he and two more men jumped over a sandbag wall. He gave Mike the 'Clear buildings' signal before the trio moved ahead. Mike nodded, then looked back to his platoon and said "SECURE THE BUILDINGS! TAKE OUT THE MG NESTS KEEPING THE MAIN FORCE PINNED!"

The Pershing, 'Hail Mary', had just fired. One shell sent the middle Imperial tank tumbling backward into a building, ablaze with blueish-red flame. Winters saw the other two tanks swivel about... And expose the strangest thing possible. Both of them had shimmering, bright radiators on their backs, that shined a blue hue similar to the flame of the lead tank, crackling and fizzling with blue lightning. He paused for a moment, then realized "The hell are Radiators doing on tanks!?"

"Dunno, sir! I just saw'em too!" Guarnere said, jumping into the same ditch with winters. "Think it has somethin' to do with how their engines run?"

"More than likely... Platoons two and four, I want rifle fire on those Radiators! Garands only! Focus and shoot!" Winters then ordered to his men, before popping out, aiming his Garand at the blue-shining radiator and opening fire with extreme prejudice. Bullets pinged off, zapped, but struck the radiators. The fragile devices dented... Flashed... Boiled... Turned white-hot...

Then the tanks both shattered from the inside out, leaving naught but twisted metal and charred bone in their wake. Guarnere laughed aloud and said "Haha! Holy shit, that's the dumbest design for a vehicle radiator ever!" to which the Riflemen all laughed in turn. Winters nodded... Then saw the Infantry retreat, with their officers trying to keep them in check. The officers died, gunned down by Thompson SMGs and Auto-Rifles... And the 3rd Platoon and their Pershing appeared ahead.

The Imperial troops within the town had just given up... Officers dead, gun crews killed, tanks destroyed. As Winters walked through into the town, he looked to see them. As Mike had told him, these guys were all mostly conscripts. He even asked one of the men who or what they were and he said they were from the Imperial Conscript Divisions. That was either another way of saying Penal Battalion, or these kids did not know what they got themselves into.

Walking up to and linking with Speirs and Toye, he said "This was awfully easy..."

"I just radioed command, sir, they're about to send a permanent Garrison here from Fort Amaranthine. Gallians and US troops." Toye reported. "The Generals congratulated us for a swift victory."

"If we wouldn't have been facing Conscripts... What are our casualties?" Winters hummed.

"Minor wounds, sir. Nothing more. Scratches, bumps and such from travelling over the ditches." Speirs said. "The conscripts couldn't aim worth a damn, thankfully. Michael's assessment of them was right."

"Right..." Winters sighed deeply. "Load up the POWs into a few trucks. Some of our men will ride on the Pershings. We're leaving for Amaranthine, now. I wanna be there by sunrise. Alright, Easy! Load'em up!" and he gave the signal. POWs were dragged out, rifles stowed away, a convoy reformed and the vehicles began moving back home. The squad soon heard the rattle of something... Familiar. Up high in the sky, they could see bird-like shapes flying low. The shapes of their fuselages looked much like Jugs...

"The US Army Air Force! P47 THUNDERBOLTS!" One of the boys said... The others cheered. So command must've gotten at least a temporary airfield set up by the Engineers. The 12 or so planes flying overhead all seemed loaded for bear. HVAR missile silhouettes, bombs... Yeah, they were coming in to land and/or strike something. Utilizing the map, the US Airborne moved back home.


	4. Fort Amaranthine

**_Fort Amaranthine. Next morning._**

Welkin and Alicia, after having been briefed about which squad they'll be serving with, walked with Captain Eleanor Varrot, the Third Regiment's commander, toward the established meeting point between them and the representatives of the US Armed Forces. The woman looked out of the windows, sighting the impressive Military force that was the US Army, Marines and Airborne. Soldiers of 3 differing uniforms stood at attention, rifles on their backs, as three, rugged-looking veterans that were their generals briefed them.

Behind them lay dozens of tanks of different types, from the heavy tanks which she'd heard were called the Pershings, to the thicker, more rounded, but slightly less armored Medium Tanks, the M4 Sherman variations. Among them were the tank crews, clad in ocher uniforms, with green tank crew hats that also had communication devices embedded into the earmuffs.

Exiting onto the courtyard... The woman froze as she heard a droning noise up above. The trio of generals and all the contingents in the army group looked up. Vehicles with thick, rounded hulls resembling jugs, as well as wide, sharp and long wings at the front and smaller ones at the back, moved through the air. They seemed to carry a payload of heavy weapons on their bellies, while on the wings, what looked like eight machine guns in total were mounted. The planes were painted in a silver and black color scheme, with the engine nacelle at the front being painted in scarlet-red. They also had an 8 mark on their tails and the White Star of the Armed Forces on their bodies and wings.

"What in the Valkyrur's name?" The Captain asked aloud, seeing the vehicles flying in low, performing acrobatic maneuvers and then flying almost wingtip to wingtip. Welkin and Alicia seemed just as surprised as they saw the aircraft flying in low above Fort Amarathine, buzzing by the courtyard. Captain Varrot looked ahead and saw the generals walking to them, one of them grinning.

"Sirs." She saluted. They saluted back.

"I presume you're captain Eleanor Varrot, of the Third Regiment, Militia." The grinning general spoke softly. She nodded quickly and the man extended his hand and said "I am General George Patton. Third Army Corps. These are my fellow commanders." And as Varrot shook his hand, the two nodded and took off their helmets. First was the Marine General. He spoke calmly "I'm General Chesty Puller. US First Marines."

"General MacAuliffe. US Army Air Corps." The third general finished the lineup. "Those were my planes in the sky."

Varrot blinked "Planes, sir? I thought those were proven to be unneeded in mobile warfare." she then noted with confusion, before they ducked as one of the pilots did a very low fly-by, sending a gust of wind that made their clothing flap around in the air. Mac smirked, as did Patton and Chest, before the trio of Gallians in front of them stared up with awe as the prop-driven aircraft performed a loop, turning a long 180 toward the opposite direction.

"Do you happen to have any tanks that are broken down? Usable for target practice?" Mac asked. Varrot raised a brow, before she saw Patton look to Mac. He showed the man to calm down and the airman sighed, then nodded and asked "Nevermind. I presume you're here for a reason other than asking us about the Thunderbolts. Any missions we can put our effective combat strength to use in?"

"Ah..." Varrot nodded, then showed them her clipboard "We do have a target now, for the Third Regiment. Orders have just been issued to go to the city of Vasel, an important supply line and, even more so, a direct link to Randgriz, the capital of Gallia. The Imperials are in full control and from the latest ground reports, are moving an armored division and three infantry divisions to the city, in preparation for an assault on Randgriz itself."

"I presume the bridge over the river should be preserved at all costs." Patton noted, putting on his round reading glasses and taking the tablet in hand. Varrot nodded. Patton then looked to Welkin and Alicia, then said "So you two are the ones Sergeants Michael and Hiller's platoon rescued. From that little village up north, Bruhl." to which the two immediately snapped-to and gave salutes.

"At ease." Patton told them. "What's your Squad in the regiment, Lieutenant?" He then asked, looking to Welkin.

"Squad 7, sir." The boy said, easing off.

"If it's no problem, I'd like to see the roster you've picked for the squad. Add Jones and Hiller in there too." Patton explained. He looked to Welkin with a calm, yet stern gaze, then asked "That good with you, Lieutenant, Captain? They'll be acting as our liaisons between the Gallian Regulars and Militia and our own Armed Forces. Ambassadors of sorts."

"Sir." Welkin nodded "I understand, sir."

"If you so wish, General." Varrot returned calmly.

"What about you, miss? What unit?" Patton asked Alicia.

"Squad 7, sir. I'm Lt. Gunther's Sergeant and XO." Alicia answered sharply. Patton nodded and looked over the maps of Vasel one more time. The bridge was well defended on both sides, with tanks and artillery possibly present on both ends. Following that, were the garrisons within the outer perimeter of the city, forming a concentric circle of defense and finally, the actual First Line of Defense, the outer city seemed to have MG Nests at each main boulevard and road, AT guns, snipers in some perches, those that could be seen and at least another heavier tank in the front.

He turned to Chesty and said "Amphibious assault. Your guys take the river up. There's a small embankment a few meters south of the bridge. Row there quietly while me and the Sixth Armored punch through alongside the Third Militia. Mac, I'm gonna need your birds to level out the road ahead for us." And he grinned, looking at the general "Make it a show for the Gallians. Level out this whole First Line and some buildings behind it."

"You got it, George." Mac nodded, turning about and leaving to talk to the Air Corps via radio.

"That's that, then." Chesty nodded. "See you, Captain, George." And he left too.

"Does the plan seem sound?" Patton asked Varrot.

"Yessir, if a bit brutal." She said. "I will gather our squads in the marshaling yard. Lieutenant, Sergeant, you're dismissed. Go meet your squad and wait for orders."

Welkin and Alicia saluted towards their CO. "Understood Ma'am." Welkin said as the two started to walk away. Alicia soon looked towards the planes that were landing, seeing the same white star that was on the US vehicles appear on a blue circle. "It's crazy to think that our new friends are able to build things like this." She said, "They're definitely more advanced then the Empire, so we may have a chance in turning this war around huh Welkin?"

"Yeah, I'm definitely wondering what Isara is going to think of their equipment, especially their planes." Welkin responded.

"How so?" Alicia said while tilting her head. "I mean I guess it's because she's a really good engineer and all but why planes in particular?"

"It's been both of our dreams to be able to fly in air." Welkin said with a small smile. "Isara has been working on a design which could fly once she got the help and the materials to build it."

"Wow, that sounds amazing." Alicia said as she thought of someone that young like Isara making such a machine and it managing to fly.

"Hey Welkin! Good to see you're in one piece!" Both of them soon turned to see a young man around their age walk up to them. He had black hair in short spikes along with clear, azure colored eyes. His uniform was different then their since he had the same patch as General Siegfried on his chest along with the same Unicorn patch for those in Squad 7. He also had two cutlasses on his person as well as his personal sidearm on his hips and had a MAGS-M1 SMG and Gallian-M1 on his back.

"Hey Matt," Welkin said to the young man, "Nice to see you too. So I'm guessing your in Squad 7 as well?"

"Varrot has me in as a Sargent in the squad along with being the Quartermaster." Matt said with a small smirk. "I know it seems like a lot of work, but someone has to it." He then had a frown on his face as continued. "I heard about what happened down in Bruhl, can't believe you and Isara were able to get the Edelweiss into battle and get out of there with how much of a surprise the Imp's strike was."

"It was touch and go for a while, but with our new friends we were able to get the rest of the civilians out after the Imperials were pushed back." Welkin said with a smile.

"Yeah, considering form what I can see from those US guys their equipment seems to be better then the Imps by a long shot. My dad wasn't kidding when he told me how much firepower these guys had."

Alicia, meanwhile had been quiet the whole time as she looked at the family crest that was on the young man. "Um Welkin?" Alicia said as the young man turned to her wondering what was up with his new friend and second in command. "Do YOU realize who your talking to?"

"Yes he does miss." Matt said with a small smile. "I'm Matthew Siegfried, son of General Siegfried and hair to the family name. Also before you ask, me and Welkin know each other due to our fathers causing us to meet and we're both students from Randgriz University."

Alicia then gave a salute. "It's an honor to meet a member of Gallia's most popular Noble house alongside the Princess's family. I have heard how much your family wants to make Gallia a better place and I am in full support of it."

To her surprise, Matt put his hands up in a easy gesture. "Please Ms. Melciott, their's no real need for that. I'm not for formalities when it comes to those around me, you can just call me Matt since your friends with Welkin."

"Oh I see," Alicia said in understanding, "then you can just call me Alicia."

"Okay then Alicia, hope we can work together to get through this war in one piece." Matt said with a smile as offered his hand in front of Alicia which she took and shook it. She was surprised at him being casual with someone like her, but since he was friends with someone like Welkin he must act as normal as people like her.

"So Matt, are the others with you?" Welkin questioned.

"Pretty much," Matt said with a shrug, "Kai's off practicing his martial arts skills, Scott is currently doing maintenance on the Dragoon, David is inside the rec room playing darts with him making a few bets."

Welkin then chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. He figured that his friends would be off doing such things as those to pass the time. "Yep, that sounds much like them." He then realized their was another of them that Matt hadn't said anything about. "Wait, what about Ragna? Where is he?"

Before Matt could say anything, another voice soon spoke up. "Right behind you Welks."

All three then turned to face another young man walking up to them. He had mostly dark blue hair with silver on the edges of his short hair. He had a bit of a neutral expression on his face with his two different colored eyes looking right at the group. His right eye was a deep shade of crimson and his left eye was dark blue much like most of his hair. He also had a Gallian Militia uniform with the same Squad 7 patch as the rest of them, but was in fact the uniform of a sniper with a GSR-M1 on his back and he had a Darcsen patterned armband on his right arm. However, while he was sniper, he had a number of close quarters weapons on him from a series of throwing knives, a pair of hunting knives, a cutlass which was rather simple looking, and finally an ornate looking longsword on his back with his sniper rifle.

"Oh hey Ragna, taking an early break in your training today?" Matt said with a smile on his face.

"Pretty much," the young Darcsen sniper said with a shrug. "shot a good number of targets along with getting some swordplay training before I heard about the new arrivals showing up. I figured I may as well go and see them for myself." He then faced Welkin directly as he gave a small wave. "Hey Welks, I heard you and Is got out of Bruhl even with the Imps attacking you."

"Thanks. It was pretty touch and go from the first shots of the battle. But thankfully we got the Edelweiss and our new friends over there were able to help the Bruhl Town Watch fight off the Imperial attack." Welkin said with a smile on his face while closing his eyes.

"Huh, I see." Ragna said. "Not really sure on how they may have gotten here in the first place, but hopefully they can stick it out with us for the rest of the conflict."

"Um, are you another friend of Welkin's?" Alicia questioned. She recognized the armband's pattern, which told her he was a Darcsen. However, she was a little curious about this unique Darcsen and why he was friends with Welkin.

"Yup, the name's Ragna. While I may not look like it, I'm actually a Darcsen." He said as he then pointed to his crimson eye. "If your wondering, the silver hair and red eye are from my mom and the dark blue hair and eye are from my father."

"I known Ragna for several years since he had been living at Matt's castle in Randgriz. He's usually blunt and speaks his mind aloud regardless of who he is speaking to." Welkin said while chuckling. "Now that doesn't mean he says things that would make fun of people if they say had a medical condition or impairment, it means that if say their was someone that made a stupid move or was acting something like arrogant, he'll point it out."

Ragna then chuckled at what his friend said. "Yeah he's not wrong. That ended up causing quite a few well deserved assholes to try and shut me up." He then crossed his arms with a smirk, "Well, all they got from their efforts was a trip to the local hospital from yours truly."

"Wait, you fought back?" Alicia said surprised at the young man's action. "But I thought Darcsens didn't fight back no matter what was happening to them!" She had heard it from Isara during their conversations together whenever the young Darcsen came by the bakery she worked at. The Darcsen code, which was stamped into the minds of all Darcsens when they were young, was that they could not fight back against those that were assaulting, harassing, or insulting them no matter what happened. It was an attempt to make them pacifists and earn them the support of those that knew of their plight

"Let's just say Ragna is NOT your average Darcsen." Matt answered for her. "Both him and his friend Kai, one of the names I said earlier, both go against the Darcsen code because they think that just taking the punches and rolling with them isn't enough. They actually want Darcsens to fight back, but in other ways then just hitting Darcsen Haters." He then gave off a small smile. "They actually want Darcsens to cause protests and demonstrations in order to get more people to see the injustice that they have suffered for so long in mass so those that want to help Darcsens

"That sounds, kinda strange since you act aggressively there Ragna." Alicia said. "I mean, not to say that you must be a violent person all the time."

"It's alright there Alicia, but I would like for something like that to happen even if I wouldn't really fit anywhere in that vision." Ragna said with a sad smile. "I think it wouldn't be the best for me, someone who does get into fights when provoked by Darcsen Haters, especially when they choose to bring up and insult a certain thing that's sensitive to me. However, it is something that I hope to happen for Darcsens everywhere. The damn sigma of the Calamity needs to eventually die, and the Haters need to grow up and understand that the actions of those that came before don't apply to those in the present."

Both Welkin and Matt nodded in understanding at the Darcsen's words. Both of them knew full well that the Calamity, even if it truly did happen, shouldn't be something that modern day Darcsens are tied to. The actions of the past shouldn't influence the present or the future of those that are descended from the those that lived during that era. People should be held accountable from the actions of their parents, grandparents, or ancestors since anyone can make their own lives or destiny. Alicia smiled at teh young man's little speech and was about to speak up when a familiar voice spoke up.

"Well well, so this is where you are Welkin and Alicia."

The four turned to see a couple of familiar faces form the US forces walk up to them (at least familiar to Welkin and Alicia). Hiller and Mike were looking around the base while the US generals were speaking with Varrot about planning for the assault on Vasel. They had seen a couple of Gallian Light tanks which looked much like the the Panzer III with a short barreled 75mm gun which would make since to take on fortifications and infantry units with HE shells and probably would only be effective in the anti-tank role in close range. While they were shown the more capable Gallian Type 79 Tank Destroyer witch were more effective against enemy tanks along with special versions of the light tank with a longer barrel gun, they were few and far between to make any large impact. They could see it would fit in the role of mobile defense warfare, but if they were going to go on the offensive and beat enemy armor forces, unless they were well led it would be an uphill battle unless they had several advantages.

"Oh Mike, Hiller!" Welkin said, "how's it going?"

"Well, just been checking out the stuff your people have like your tanks." Hiller said. "Your tanks for example aren't bad in terms of defense and they could work for infantry support, but they need a bigger punch if they're to beat the Imps in a gunnery duel. Though they are more modern looking then the old looking tanks the Imperials have."

"Really? How so?" Welkin questioned.

"Well from what we heard, they still use multi-turret tanks in large numbers but that idea for tanks was dropped a few years back since they're too maintenance heavy and expensive compared to single turret tanks." Hiller stated. He may not have been a tanker himself, but he knew those types of tanks had been dropped since they were slow, complicated, and just ineffective unless the tank commander was smart enough to use it to its best performance.

"Well, can't say you're wrong about that," Matt said while crossing his arms. "the Imps are pretty old fashioned. They still use that heavy armor they have all of their infantry wear that really doesn't work for protection against bullets and its just more for looks. Really, they're just behind the times in some cases compared to other parts of the world."

"I see." Hiller said. "Oh that's right, I didn't introduce myself." He then extended a hand towards Matt in a friendly gesture. "I'm Sargent Brandon Hiller, United States Marine Corps. I'm among the guys that got your friend Welkin out of Bruhl when the Imps showed up." He then pointed a thumb back at Mike, "That over there is Sargent Micheal Jones of the 101st Airborne Division, or Mike as everyone calls him."

Matt was a little curious about the American in front of him since they were not from around here, but he could tell that the man in front of him was a good guy. He knew that the Americans wanted to help Gallia kick the Imps out of their country, but they must have had a bigger reason in being here. Perhaps helping Gallia co-insides with an objective of theirs, but if they were going to offer help then he knew they were going to need the help, the isolationist houses, Damon, and Borg be damned.

Matt took the American's hand as he gave a small smile in return. "I'm Sargent Matthew Siegfried, a friend of Welkins and also part of the same squad as him. Nice to meet the both of you."

"Wait, your General Siegfried's son?" Hiller said with a surprise in his voice.

"Yeah pretty much." Matt said with a shrug, "If your curious about a Noble wanting to be in the Militia instead of the Regulars, that's because I'd rather stick with my friends and not have to deal with any of the more arrogant and dense officers that were above me. My family is well known since we're a military family that have fought in a good number of Gallia's wars, so the soldiers know I'm not some glory seeking Noblemen that thinks of them as country peasants."

"Makes sense," Mike spoke up, "from what your dad said to our Generals the guy in charge of your forces is a complete dumbass."

Matt chuckled at the Airborne soldier's statement about "General" Damon. "Oh trust me, he's way more then that all things considered. Considering he lost Ghirlandaio, our best and most heavily defended fortress aside from Aslone near Randgriz in mere days, he's more likely to hand the Imps a complete victory unless the real soldiers step up. Hell, the place would have allowed for even the most rookie officers to hold it for a few weeks at worst so you can understand why most in the Gallian Militia and even the Regulars dislike the man."

Both Americans were surprised by what the young noble had said. 'Man the generals are going to be surprised when they hear this.' Hiller thought to himself.

Ragna then chose to speak up, "So what's the Airborne mean?"

Mike then looked to the young Darcsen with a raised eyebrow with how not only was the guy having two different eye colors, but also had two colors in his hair. He had heard of people with heterochromatic eyes before, even through they were few and far between. However, the fact there was a guy like that in front of him was something he never thought was possible.

"What?" Ragna said while crossing his arms.

"Um, what's up-" Mike started to say before Welkin spoke up.

"Mike wait!" Welkin interrupted while pulling him to the side.

"What's wrong Welkin? I was just going to say something about your friend's looks." Mike simply said. He didn't know why Welkin was so alarmed by what he was about to say since it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Trust me when I say watch your wording because Ragna is defensive about his looks." Welkin said.

"Seriously? He doesn't look like the type to care about his appearance." Mike said.

"It's more complicated then that." Welkin said with a sad look on his face. "Ragna's looks are among the last things he has of his parents as he lost them to the Empire's Darcsen Hunters. His parents helped to make him who he is today and owes so much that anyone that insults his looks is the same as spitting on their graves. Trust me, those that have insulted them ended up in the hospital which a number of bruises and even broken bones."

Mike was surprised to hear what the young Gallian said. He thought their wasn't that big of a deal with the guy being serious about those insulting his looks. However, Mike could tell that those that have only a few things that kept the memories of their parents were important to them, in some cases that they considered it as important as their lives. He could see why he would be defensive (especially if he had picked on before by those who wanted to pick on him in the past about that) but it would make since

"You were telling him about my looks and how it pisses me off there Welkin?" Both young men were surprised when they heard Ragna's voice from behind them as he had his arms crossed with a serious look on his face. Mike was taken aback that Ragna followed them with Matt, Hiller, and Alicia following the young man as he was waiting to see what the young American would say. Matt gave a nod in understanding since he had the unique Darsen living at his place for years since he had been taken in after discovering his family's summer home. As for both Alicia and Hiller, they felt bad for the young man since he had lost his family (Alicia more so since she was well aware of the actions of the Darcsen Hunters). Hiller felt bad since he had heard of the racism that the Empire had was at the point where it was close to what the Nazis were doing since the Hunters were much like the SS.

"Wow Ragna, I had no idea that happened to you." Alicia said with sadness in her voice.

Ragna turned to Alicia with a solemn look. "Thanks for the sympathy Alicia. However, I plan on taking them down so they know that there is someone that will hunt them just as well. Not for revenge, but just to keep them from attacking over Darcsens and inspire others to stand up to them. If anything I plan on making them learn to fear me on the battlefield."

"Just try not to go overboard or get in over your head pal." Matt said as he put a hand on his shoulder with a smile on his face. "You know we should all watch each others back, especially since you could end up in a fight that might be too much." Ragna simply smirked at his friend's remark, he did get into fights with Darcsen haters that made him glad that Kai helped him out (along with the times Matt and the others joined in to ease things up).

"Even though I can beat a dozen people without trying?." Ragna said to his friend.

Matt grinned at his friend's remark. "Even if you can do that."

Welkin and Alicia chuckled at the sight as the Bruhl native then spoke up. "Well, hopefully we're able to get the Imps out soon enough. I would like to see everyone return to their homes, especially those that the Imperials have taken away from." She said as she frowned slightly, thinking back to Bruhl.

Ragna looked towards the young baker as he crossed his arms and nodded in understanding. "I know, me and the other guys heard about Bruhl. But I wouldn't worry, we'll eventually get it back once we start turning things around against the Imps." He then smirks, "Besides, Welkin and Is live there as well and they do tend to get homesick easily."

Welkin then crossed his arms as he rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Well, nice to know you guys are willing to step up and fight." Hiller said with a grin. He could tell these guys had the guts to fight even with how bad their situation was with the Imps. He could see that it would be people like this that the US would want to work with the most if they were going to fight their opponents along side the locals.

"Well, someone has to step and lead others by example." Matt said with a smile at the American. "And besides, you can't really trust the incompetent Nobles like Damon to bring us to victory."

"That is a fair point." Mike said with a shrug as he saw what the young Gallian was talking about. "The Generals might have plans to help not only with actual fighting, but we might provide training and even armaments once negotiations get off the ground." It was something that was in the mind of the US Generals from what he was able to overhear as they talked with General Siegfried about future cooperation between both countries

Ragna then smirked as he chuckled, "Well then, I hate to be the Imps at this point. If your people are really that good in war, then even the Darcsen Hunters could end up on the receiving end of the gun."

"Well, if anything there are far more dangerous people out there who will seek you out if what you are." Mike said with a low voice. However, Ragna was able to pick up what the Airborne soldier was saying.

"Hey Mike right?" The young Darcsen spoke up, "What are you talking about?"

Mike looked at Ragna with his eyebrows raised up somewhat at the fact the young man was able to catch that. "Oh, just thinking about certain things. It's not important right now as they were things from the past, so there's no need for you to pay heed to it." Mike then walked away as Hiller looked at his friend with a slight frown on his face. He was fully aware of what his long time friend was referring to since he was the only one that knew of his past. Both Ragna and Matt, felt as though there was something about Mike that was strange from most others they have met before. Mike was hiding something from his past that had made him seem aloof to things around him outside of battle.

"Oh Matthew, Ragna. I see you and Welks have met up again."

The group then turned to see a young girl approach them. She had short dark-blue hair in a bowl cut, dark blue eyes, light and fair skin, and wore a shawl with the same pattern as Ragna's armband. She had on a Gallian militia uniform under the shawl with a short skirt and combat boots. Hiller looked at the girl, who was quite taken with how cute she looked in his eyes.

"Hey Isara," Ragna said as he walked up to her and ruffled her hair. "nice to know that Welk's guardian will be watching him just in case he gets far too his wildlife sketches and we aren't around."

"Very funny Ragna." Welkin said while rolling his eyes as Alicia giggled a little.

Matt then spoke up to Alicia, "I'm guessing you first met him as he was busy drawing some wildlife?"

Alicia nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, he was drawing some trout in the nearby stream during the evacuation. I thought that he must have been kind of Imperial spy since he was acting suspicious. I then had him held up by gunshot along with two other Town Watch members and marched him down to the station for interrogation. Fortunately, Isara showed up and eventually I let him off after she told me he wasn't a spy and since I've known her for a while, I trusted her word."

Both Matt and Ragna then looked at their squad's commander and shook their heads, much like a parent being disapproving of their child's actions. "Welkin, how many times have we told you not to get tunnel vision when seeing wildlife?" Matt said with a frown. "We and the others keep telling you this because it was going to probably get you in trouble, and we were just proven right."

"Oh come on guys, Alicia said she was sorry and Isara was able to deal with things." Welkin said with a deadpan look on his face.

Isara soon giggled at her adopted brother getting told by his friends. It was something that Welks really did need to work on as he has gotten into trouble in the past. She then noticed that one of the Americans (as she heard them being called) was staring at her. She tilted her head in confusion as she then spoke up to the young man. "Um, can I help you?"

Hiller then blinked as he shook his head, "N-No! Sorry about that!" He then let out a slow breath to calm himself as he held out a hand to her. "Anyway, I'm Sargent Brandon Hiller, US Marine Corps."

Isara give a little nod in greeting as she took his hand and shook it. "I'm Isara Gunther, I'm Welk's adopted little sister. Nice to meet you Brandon."

"You're adopted?" Hiller asked to the young Darcsen.

"Yeah, her father was Themier, a genius Darcsen engineer and weapon designer." Matt said aloud. "You've probably seen the Edelweiss already as you followed Welks and Isara from Bruhl. It was the tank that her father built for General Belgen Gunther, Welkin's father who lead the defense of Gallia during the First Europan War which was built to fight any tank that the Imperials had at the time."

"Seriously, that thing was made to fight the last war?" Hiller questioned. "That thing looks similar to a tank that we had to deal with before and it looks more modern then most of the tanks I've seen here."

"My father was quite the weapon maker and didn't spare any expense in making the Edelweiss." Isara simply stated. "Of course, I helped to upgrade it so it can compete with an tank the Imperials can send with an improved engine along with a few more upgrades that I can install to improve its performance."

"He had also made a couple more tanks that my dad has." Matt said, "There's the Dragoon which is a medium tank equivalent to the Edelweiss which I now use and the Drakon which my dad uses which is a heavier tank with a ton of firepower. Plus Themier made designs for new firearms and anti-tank lances that would no doubt help us out once we have the time and resources to mass produce them for the Gallain military."

Hiller whistled at that. "Man, your old man must have been your country's equal John Browning if that is the case!" It was true, the famous American gunsmith was able to create several of the key weapons that had allowed the US to deal with the Axis Powers in the various theaters of the war. From the BAR which was used to help support the squad in lying down fire, to the M1919 30 cal and the larger 50 cal which helped both soldiers on the ground and the pilots in the Army Air Force and the Carrier based planes in dogfights (especially the latter's hard hitting striking power).

Isara blushed a little and was about to speak up but was interrupted by an announcement via the Fort's loudspeakers.

"ATTENTION!" A voice sounded over the speakers "GALLIAN FORCES ARE TO DEPLOY TOWARDS VASEL WITHIN 20 MINUTES A BATTALION-SIZED FORCE OF US TROOPS ARE TO JOIN IN THE OPERATION TO RETAKE THE CITY FROM THE ADVANCING IMPS BEFORE THE MAJORITY OF THEIR FORCES CROSS THE BRIDGE AND PUSH THE REMAINING GALLIAN FORCES OUT OF THE CITY. ALL SOLDIERS ARE TO ARM THEMSELVES AND PREPARE TO HEAD-OUT."

"Sounds like we're about to go into action again." Hiller said with a frown.

Matt and Ragna looked to Welkin, wanting to see if their friend was ready to get into action. Welkin looked to them and nodded, knowing full well that is was the beginning of Gallia's counterattack against the Imps.

* * *

 ** _AN:So... A huge thank you to BlazBlade for aiding me write up a very large part of this chapter. I owe him for this one, quite a bit. Up next, the Gallians'll see the US Army's full capabilities of engagement and we'll get through to the Liberation of Vasel, one house at a time._**

 ** _Peace!_**


	5. Vasel:Disagreements

Welkin and Isara regarded the aircraft above with awe. Maybe half a dozen of what the US Army called 'The Thunderbolts' were flying in low with them, carrying a payload of bombs and anti-tank rockets enough to level all of Vasel. Behind them, in a convoy, were Pershings and Shermans, followed by US Halftracks and armored vehicles, as well as 1/2 Ton trucks that hauled ammunition, supplies and were towing 105mm Artillery Pieces.

Sitting atop the Edelweiss, Michael looked through binoculars, his Thompson SMG and M1 Carbine laying beside him, on the turret. He had a smile on his face as he said "Lieutenant, let me take you through a basic info of our armored forces. How to distinguish between the infantry and army units of us and our foes... Shoot a single warning shot over an entrenched Infantry unit's head. If the response is cadenced, well-trained and rapid rifle fire, they're British. If the response is a shitstorm of Machinegun fire, they're Krauts. If they throw their guns down and surrender, they're Italian... And if nothing happens for 5 minutes... And then your position gets obliterated by a very accurate artillery strike or air support... It's usually the US Armed Forces."

Welkin raised a brow and asked "That means you guys heavily rely on the superior firepower doctrine?"

"Yep." Mike smiled.

Welkin looked back, then listened. An American tank commander, holding binoculars, spoke clearly into his wireless Radio "Silver Strike, you're a-go for Payload launch." And Welkin and everyone else gazed ahead. The Thunderbolts came in low and the boy could swear he immediately heard the chatter of machine guns attached to their wings. Eight 50 Caliber guns sprayed a trench line ahead. Imperial soldiers scattered, falling dead and limp to the floor. And Welkin saw two bombs detach from the undercarriage of a Thunderbolt, before slamming into the ground and exploding...

An entire Imperial tench was vaporized. Not long after, Imp Light Tanks advancing down the road found themselves prey to the wailing armaments known as Anti-Tank Rockets from aboard the aircraft. A single bird made an attack run, emptying its entire payload into a squadron of 6 Imp tanks. Out of all 6, only 2 survived as the bird turned away. An American tank, a Pershing, pulled to the side, aimed its main gun and let it rip, punching clean through a tank whilst its brother retreated.

"Jeez..." Alicia hummed, watching as the American tanks rolled onward, passing through Imperial defense lines unhindered as the Imps fell back. A cheerful song the US Army and Marines called 'Over There' was being sung by units as they dismounted and moved into the city, Garands and M1 Carbines out, followed by Shock Troops with Thompsons. Isara smiled as she saw their forces rolling up beside Edelweiss and the Dragoon. Within the city, more Imperial positions were detonated by precision strikes from the P47s flying not so far away from them.

As the tanks rolled up within the square and troops unloaded equipment and ammo necessary for the combat here, the 105 Howitzers were being set up. Sandbag walls were erected around a camp that was currently being put up. Following in, the US Tanks prepared 50 cals to greet an incoming counterattack of infantry, should it ever come. Welkin and the others regarded the advancing US Regiment with joy as they saw them marching into the city without worry.

Riflemen took position within the buildings as the planes flew low. Squad commanders, Thompson SMGs in hand, coordinated with platoons and fellow officers on the job and Snipers climbed buildings via ladders, or entered and occupied them to gain a better view down the boulevard of ruined buildings. Civilians, those few left in the city, looked out of their houses' windows with awe as they saw the soldiers marching through.

"General Patton's orders, boys! We're taking this town." One of the Marine Sergeants said, readying his BAR as several others joined up to him, Squad 7 included. In total, about 3 Platoons in strength. The Sarge continued "We punch through their defensive lines, secure the buildings and engage any Imp we see. Watch your sectors and stick with your squads. We'll all make it through this." before he looked to Welks and said "Lieutenant Gunther, was it?"

"Yeah." Welkin nodded.

"I'm Sergeant Jefferson, First Marines. Glad to be serving with the Gallian Militia. One of our Boys is with ya, so do keep'im safe and sound." The Marine grinned. He showed his boys to rally up, then they started moving. Squad 7 was given a hand signal to advance through a side road, probably to outflank the enemy unit present on the west bank. Welkin heard the thunder of guns in the far back as they went down the road, then took a right.

"That's 105 Howitzers." Hiller said, BAR at the ready. "Think our birds helped'em zero in on something?"

Mike nodded, M1 Carbine at the ready "I'd bet so."

The cadenced thunder of the guns, followed by explosions, continued for a good few minutes and followed the joint Gallian-US squad as they entered their positions. Welkin and the Sergeants had divided the squad between two spots. The Vasel Library square was occupied by several shock troopers, the Dragoon and a sniper, whilst the riverbank was covered by the Edelweiss. Opposing them, two Imperial Light Tanks and two platoons' worth of Infantry.

The soldiers took up position, with the rumble of cannons and artillery striking the walls of houses. The Town Hall resided as the main objective, followed only by the control center of the bridge, which was on the opposite, shelled-to-death bank still under artillery fire. Alicia regarded Michael as the man jumped off the 'Weiss and readied his weapon, racking the bolt.

He shouldered the weapon as the scouts joined up with him, then gazed down the iron sight and... Shot. An Imperial Storm Trooper fell, a round between his eyes. The Imperials all swiveled about at the sight of the American Paratrooper, weapon's barrel still smoking, before he shot again. Another hit tore through the thin sheet metal that was the Imps' armor and broke into the inside of his body, split into shards of metal. The man fell, pained, to the floor. Alicia and a redhead shock trooper, Rosie, joined him, firing her SMG.

Shouldering weapons, scouts led by Alicia also opened up. Lead struck the walls and dirt with disregard and they heard a pained grunt, then a metallic thunk as a helmet hit the floor to the left. A man died in the high grass around them... Hmm, fun place to hide. Mike took two grenades from his belt, popped the pins off and threw both to the left and right patches of grass. The detonations sent corpses flying... Imps.

"Trying to ambush us. Not too smart." Michael noted. He looked to the squad, raised his hand and showed them to follow, then urged the Edelweiss forward as a tank came into view. A light imperial of course, but nothing they couldn't handle. The squad moved from sandbag wall to sandbag wall, separated yet together and covering each-other... One of the soldiers tripped and the redhead pulled him up, then said "C'mon, kiddo! No time to drop on your belly!" before urging said trooper behind cover and firing her SMG.

The tank's MG crackled and the main cannon thundered. An 88mm shell struck the Light tank, shattering the frontal armor. The tank wound up rolling into the river, a burning husk with no tracks. On the other side, down the main Bridge Boulevard, the Marines, Airborne and GIs advanced with their Shermans and Pershings. The P47s came in along the Boulevard. Their fifties thundered, sending Imp troops dead on the floor. Another pair of rockets detached and struck, tearing apart an Imperial MG nest due to the High Explosives.

With the other team and Dragoon, at the Library Square, Hiller shouldered a BAR whilst some of the Gallians took positions beside them. Imp Shock Troops and Scouts streamed through Alleyways... Only to be greeted by 30-06 rounds from a steadied, mag-fed rifle. The Marine grinned, eyes locked down the iron sights and finger on the trigger.

Some found the idea of cover negligible, rushing like lambs to the slaughter. Others hid behind the walls as the Dragoon also joined in with bursts of fire from its Co-axial Machine Gun. Hiller grinned, dropping an empty mag from the BAR and loading in a fresh one, before shouldering the weapon once again and letting it rip. On the main boulevard, the thunder of Easy Eights' 76mm Cannons sounded off, Garand rifles cracked and pinged and sharpshooters wielding Springfields took out HVTs. A coordinated, concerted assault had begun, supported by mid-range artillery and tanks. Waves of US Troops, hardened from the war in their Europe surged forth, from cover to cover, weapons in hand, masterfully and skillfully breaking through the lines.

A pair of US troopers fell, gunned down by a shock trooper that hid in ambush, but he was quickly dispensed as the doctors went to recover the wounded. PTs and Gun Boats came across the river, hauling Marines and 40mm Autocannons on their hulls. The sudden strike surprised the Gallians and definitely caught the Imps off-guard. The Forties focused on the second Light Tank, keeping it away from the shore while the Marine-hauling PT Boats disembarked their cargo and went off and around on the shallow water, their fifties firing at the other side of the river.

Jefferson's Marine platoon joined Squad 7's riverbank detachment with an attack from behind. The first three soldiers that got up the stairs were Jefferson himself, with his Thompson and two Marines, one hauling a BAR, the other an M1 Carbine. In other parts of the city, Combat intensified, with tanks advancing through the streets, supported by the dismounted Platoons of GIs, Marines and Paradrop troops, all of which kept in close contact and cooperated with each-other.

A strafing run on the bridge with the eight fifties of a P47 ground up a platoon of Imperial infantry trying to cross over. As it flew over the Imp-owned and bombed-to-shit bank, it dropped its payload. Two bombs struck a motorpool, igniting fuel and destroying whereabouts of 5 Imperial tanks, whilst severely damaging the others. A second P47 swept in, MGs raking the ground and buildings with AP rounds. Sporadic enemy fire came back from the ground, but nothing to damage the Jugs.

Elco and Higgins PT boats, fast and agile and mounting enough weapons to kill off entire platoons, continued deploying troops on the Bank. The Imperials, in full control of the bridge still, retracted it as per order of the Vasel commander. The Marines streamed up the stairwell, rifles firing at anything that moved and looked even remotely knight-like. One of the Marines grinned and said "My God, is their armor shit!"

"I think it's just for decoration!" Another Marine called out, readying a Bazooka to fire at an advancing Imp tank left on this riverbank. The rocket, now loaded into the tube, flew off into the side armor of the tank just as it tried to spin about. The round exploded inside, bursting and detonating ammunition and what amounted to the tank's fuel. He pumped his fist into the air, then stowed the Bazooka back into its holder and grabbed his M1 Carbine.

An overwhelming amount of fire, a chaotic battle and shocking mobility is what the Gallians saw. To the Americans, his was a battle doctrine. Surprise and suppression by heavy firepower. As Platoons of infantry streamed into this side of the River, Imperial troops with nowhere to run fought either to the last man, or surrendered when they ran out of ammunition. Marines and artillery moved up, with machine guns firing at buildings across the river to keep Imperial snipers pinned. As the short-range Mortars were set up and Engineers came to set up defensive positions, including sandbag walls, on the Bank, Squad 7 could only stare on with awe...

Matt and Hiller walked together, the latter grinning as he held his BAR by his side, seeing the Americans pouring into Vasel now, for the counterattack. PT Boats were anchored by the riverbed, MGs firing as well to keep the Imperials awake... Welkin, Alicia, Matt, Ragna, Hiller and Mike met in the middle of the square, weapons stowed, with the Gallians being shocked at the efficiency of the US troops.

"Well, that wasn't so bad." Mike noted, arranging his helmet.

"You kidding? Easy as pie." Hiller grinned proudly, leaning his BAR on his shoulder.

"... About 30 minutes. I timed it." Welkin said to Matt, surprised. Matt raised a brow, staring at Welkin as a chill shot up his spine... The Lieutenant said again "It took us 30 minutes since the beginning of the Assault to liberate the plaza." then both listened for the sounds of sporadic combat still ongoing in some areas of the city. "The American troops encircled half the Imperial Army on the West Bank. The others on the East are holding out... But..." He pointed back at the Mortars and MGs firing, as well as the tanks that streamed into the Plaza with infantry.

"Damn..." Matt hummed.

"You're kidding, right? 30 minutes? That's gotta be a bloody record somewhere." Ragna murmured, calmly. He looked to Hiller and Mike as the two chatted away, walking toward the riverbank and chose to follow them. They seemed happy... The US Armed Forces were something to fear, alright. Ragna saw the PT boats with 40mm Autocannons, the mortars, the tanks... And he could only wonder _what_ would drive countries like them to this kind of military spending. Aside from a Great War.

Mike and Hiller stopped... And Ragna heard yelling. The two soldiers turned toward the Riverbank's lower embankment, then went and ran down the stairs. Ragna followed them, jumping over the railing and tailing them, only to find Isara and two of their teammates... Oh, God. As they stepped up, they started hearing more of the argument and Hiller took a moment as Rosie turned to them... The redhead.

"What the hell are you two doing here? I'm having a chat with the Darkie, so scram!" Rosie called out.

"This was sudden." Mike noted. "What's the problem, anyways?"

"The problem, Yankee, is that I'm not working with a Dark-Hair. Do you know what they are?" Rosie barked.

"... Are we seriously having a talk about racism because of hair?" Hiller raised a brow. "Okay, listen here, Dumbo, you may be a good shot and a woman, but don't think I ain't gonna deck you in the mouth if you start harassing the girl or anyone with the same hair color. I'm a Marine. We punch assholes in the face for a living. Ask any enemy of ours and he'll tell ya much the same. Gallia's an allied nation to us meanwhile, I'll tell ya that, but that doesn't disallow any kind of punch I need to deliver... Out in Texas, anyone who pisses us off gets a hard punch. The fact that you're going for this poor gal here in particular is also kindly annoyin' to me"

"In the worst case Texan scenarios, you get a revolver round to the mouth." Mike noted, grinning.

"Yep." He noted, before looking to the man beside her. Largo, the AT Lancer and asking "What're you here for, Sport?"

"I was waiting to talk to some of our squad's commanders." Largo crossed his arms.

"Oh... That old insubordinate thing. Came here to help Redhead because of the girl you're pickin' on being the El-Tee's sister." Hiller sighed, before noticing Welkin walking down toward them, with Matt following close behind. Hiller grinned "Well, looks like you'll get what you want." before stepping back next to Isara. She looked at him, surprised and he returned a smile and a nod, then glared back at Rosie and Largo... Oh, boy, was today gonna be magical.


	6. Vasel:The Counter-Attack

"Lieutenant." Mike and Hiller saluted.

"What's going on here?" Welkin asked warily.

"These two asshats in your squad were messing with the Corporal, sir." Hiller motioned to Rosie and Largo, both of which seeming ready to pop a vein. The Marine Sergeant swiveled about to them, glaring angrily, then suggested "US Army punishment for insubordination usually ends in a court marshal and demotion to the lowest rank. Sergeant Potter wished to talk to you about your... 'Rank' and job in the Squad, probably challenge it, thinking a youngster such as yourself, no offense, sir, has no place to lead this squad." and watched as Largo and Rosie froze upon mention of Court Marshal.

"And Corporal Stark seems the usual racist, with all due respect. IF she's here to pick a fight with us and the commander of the unit, there's a certain level of punishment we're willing to administer without Court Marshal." Mikhail noted, watching as their faces turned paler and paler. "That would include us beating the living hell out of them, which I am inclined to believe you would not condone, Lieutenant. But which we would love to do nonetheless. Alas, punishment is required and we will let you apply it as you see fit... Just make sure that you do apply it, sir. Weakness in the Commander of a Squad can be the cause for further such situations."

"... Is that so?" Welkin looked over to the duo of officers in his squad, then over to Rosie and Largo and asked "On what grounds do you challenge my command, Largo?"

"Experience." Largo returned, seemingly trying to recover from the little threats presented by the US Servicemen. "You may've been elected as Lieutenant due to your training, but I don't believe I can see myself led by a kid who only bears the name Gunther. Hell if I know you made right to that name even. And then there's your two Sergeants here, Michael and Hiller. Watchdogs from the US much?"

"If it is for the sake of keeping people like you in check, we're glad they're around." Matt countered, arms crossed.

Hiller squinted at Largo, then chuckled and walked toward him, stowing his weapon in his back, wrapping his hand around the man's shoulder and pulling him farther away. "Ohoho, Sarge... Call us that one more time and that nose of yours will be sown to the back of your skull." He warned in the scariest, yet most friendly voice the man had ever heard... As he looked into Hiller's eyes, the man noticed the glare was that of a boy who had seen hell...

Mike paused as they heard a long, sharp whistle above, then winced and called out "INCOMIIIIING! MORTAR!" before pushing the Lieutenant, Alicia and Isara out of the way. Matt and Ragna took cover before the man got to say anything and Hiller had pushed Largo and Rosie to the floor as the first rounds hit the water line ahead of them. A second shell struck the embankment ahead of them, sending debris into the water and onto the sand they lay on.

One of the PT Boats tied near the embankment was hit by a mortar shell as its crew were working on it. The shell punched through the steel plating above and detonated within the ammunition hold, cooking off the ammo inside and burning the men on it alive. Gunfire soon started to echo from across the river and the windows of houses on the Imperial side of the river were filled with muzzle flashes. All the while, Mike hadn't missed the sound of the tanks rolling and the bridge lowering. He picked up the Lieutenant, then called out "GET TO THE TANK, LIEUTENANT! EVERYONE ELSE, TO FIGHTING POSITIONS!"

Rosie and Largo stood up with Hiller's help, then hauled ass back onto the top of the river, near the bridge, as a pair of Sherman tanks rolled up and took positions, readying their 76 Millimeter cannons for the heavy lifting. GIs fell into defensive positions and Thirty Cals started an incessant rattle that punctured the bridge's surface. An imperial tank's main gun fired and bounced off the front plating of a Pershing that had just arrived at the forefront.

American Infantrymen got shot, six of them fell, wounded and three of them died.

The counterattack had begun. The Americans scrambled to makeshift defensive positions and the guns of their tanks roared one at a time, sending shells into the opposite side of the river. The 105 Howitzers howled too, HE shells blasting apart what lay hidden behind rubble in the far back. A 76 punched through a building, blasting it apart from the inside. 50s let loose, firing in arcs toward the enemy's positions. Despite blind-firing, the guns seemed to hit hard enough to suppress the imps.

"FUCKING SUPPRESS! SUPPRESS!" One of the GI Lieutenants yelled to the gunners manning the thirty calls. Bursts of fire once again bellowed from the Allied side, while sniper shots picked off riflemen and officers from afar. Noticing this, Ragna wanted to try his hand at taking out the enemy sharpshooters, though ahead of him was the young Marina Wulfstan, a black-haired beauty of a lone wolf sniper. She slid into cover, shouldered her GSR-2... And fired. Then rechambered. Fired. Rechambered. Six times. Six dead snipers. Marina's accuracy was unnervingly good.

Meanwhile, Squad 7 Medic Triplet Sisters, Mina, Fina and Gina tending to wounded US Troopers and Gallian Militiamen and what appeared to be Military Priests gave last rites to those dead after the first attack. Machine Guns continued laying down suppressing fire in connected arcs and what the Riflemen could spot, they would shoot. Snipers also joined in to counter the enemy's own sharpshooters, with Marina and Ragna leading the fight.

Welkin watched from his tank as they too joined the fight, readying the 88 on his tank and firing toward the Bridge. A round hit an Imp light tank square in the front plate, bursting through and sending the husk of the tank tumbling to the shallow river's bottom. A squad of infantry moved past the other wrecks, firing weapons and trying to sprint past the Allied defenses... To No Avail.

50 cals shredded the poor sons of bitches and Hiller saw it very well. Shouldering his weapon and firing too, he cut swathes alongside the MGs and cannons of their tanks. The ill-fated Imperial Counterattack was already getting bogged down on the bridge. Half of the US Tanks present inside had a thought of marching right on through to the other side. That would've been an idea if the bridge controls weren't in the Imps' hands... PT Boat 40-mils opened up on the bridge and MGs kept AT units on the Imperial bank from firing at them.

Multiple American casualties came through as well, but many made it thanks to Fina, Mina and Gina. Ragna, meanwhile, scoped in whatever he could kill and nailed them with headshots. Mike joined the man and fired his weapon too, before yelling to one of his Paratroopers "This is like bloody Arnhem!" making the man wince. The trooper beside him said "Don't remind me, sir! I nearly got my throat sli-" and, almost poetically, a stray Imperial bullet struck the trooper in the throat. He collapsed to the floor, spasming while Mike pulled him into cover and Ragna covered.

"That was an Imp sniper, or a really lucky stray shot!" Ragna offered, racking the bolt of his rifle.

Marina seemed poised to return the favor, snapping of a shot that rebound and burst through the head of an Imperial without a helmet. She eyed another shot, then fired and checked her pockets for ammo. Nothing... She set her GSR on the floor, then bounded across the battlefield, dodging fire under the watchful gaze of a platoon of GIs and Militiamen. She ground to a halt next to a fallen US Soldier, yanked his Garand from his cold, dead hands, shouldered the rifle, eyed down the sights and fired... Another Imperial shooter was silenced, with iron sights as the aiming mechanism.

She aimed again, calmly, as a hailfire of bullets struck next to her from an Imp MG, then snapped off at least one more shot. She aimed for windows, muzzle flashes and anything that seemed to present an Imperial soldier. While the M1 did bear a bigger kick than the GSRs, it also did a better job at stopping imps dead in their tracks. Another target locked, this time on the bridge, trying to aim for her. Another shot. And another corpse lost to the currents of the Vasel river.

The girl dodged and grabbed the dead man's ammo off his corpse, before dashing into cover, sliding the belt on her shoulder, kneeling and supporting the rifle onto a chipped bit of stone from the embankment's railing. A shot struck beside her, chipping more of the stone railing out... A Sniper was targeting her, specifically. Calm and merciless, Marina dropped the man with a direct shot and the clip of the Garand pinged as it fell out of the chamber. The Gallian Sniper took out a fresh clip from the ammo pouch on the US webbing, slid it in and slammed the bolt, feeding the weapon. She raised it again, aimed and fired... A Shock Trooper dropped off the bridge, dead as disco.

Marina's aim then focused on a watchtower across the river, where a Sniper's scope flashed with light. A bullet punched through the scope, through the plated helmet and into the man's skull. The body tumbled to the floor with a wet crunch, muted by the hell of the Imperial Counterattack. Ragna and Mike watched the sniper, the latter with a wide grin on his face as the woman fired shots off one after the other. Each seemed to silence an Imperial gun or soldier...

Marina's shots were cadenced. One every 3 seconds, each causing a death. She was fast, she trusted her comrades to cover her and when push came to shove, every shot she fired hit the target with accuracy unlike any the Gallians or the US Troopers had seen. Outside rumors, Hiller had never seen this good a shooter in real life. There were jokes and such from the Soviets when they met in Munich about a Finnish sharpshooter who got 700+ Kills or something... Hiller never thought he'd see the stone-cold soviet bastards shiver, but damn if they didn't when the Nickname " _Bialya Smiert"_ or 'White Death' was brought up by a Veteran of the Winter and Continuation wars.

Marina seemed cold and calculate as every shot she took was a good one. It either got a sniper, an enemy AT lancer or an Officer. She heard the famed boots of an Imperial Soldier that somehow got out alive from the hellfire... Cocking her head, the girl drew her sidearm, a Gallian Homebrew Handgun resembling a Luger, then fired six times. Three Imperial troopers slumped to the floor, dead, as the rifle girl holstered the pistol and continued her onslaught.

"Holy shit..." Hiller murmured, crawling next to Rosie, whose eyes were wider than his when he first met a Tiger.

"Tell me about it... That girl is fucking terrifying." Rosie said, shouldering her SMG and firing toward an advancing squad of Imperials on the bridge. The bastards had enough men to throw at them, it seemed. Marina fired again, this time a man slouched and fell across the river and the two saw it. She looked to Hiller, then noted "You kids have good hearing..."

"Mike's so used to artillery being shot at him, he can discern between a simple Mortar Grenade and a fucking 152mm shell..." The Marine noted, waving forward a pair of gunners with .30s He watched them set the weapon up and fire, but Marina didn't stop. Every round she fired took down another one... Until the Imps finally blew a whistle and a Retreat was called. Whatever could be pulled back retreated across the bridge under harassment from the now-returned P47s and the guns of the Shermans and Pershings.

Ragna counted at least 25 Imperials if every one of Marina's shots hit. As the gunfire died down and as she strolled toward the American lines, the Gallian sniper got cheers from the Yanks along the lines of 'Awesome work!', 'Fuckin' A!', 'Nice shooting!' and 'A Godsend, this lady!' while she simply moved to hand back the Garand, ammo pouch and dog tags of the dead man to the American GI working with their I-Corps. The officer in charge with Supply seemed surprised as the young Sniper handed the rifle to him, as well as the ammo and tags and said "Make sure that his family knows he fought well. And that a local thanks him and them for the help." nodding, before she turned to leave.

"Wait, ma'am... What's your name?" The Officer asked, surprised.

"... I'm Corporal Marina Wulfstan... Squad 7 Sniper." She spoke calmly, giving a nod to the officer once more, before turning to leave. The man held the Rifle, tags and ammo in both hands as he watched the beauty of a sniper walk off. He grinned as he set the weapoon down, then yelled "The Black Wolf of Gallia just showed us how to snipe, boys! Remember that when we fight with the Militia again! Squad 7's got one hell of a shot!"

Marina gazed back, raising a brow as the cheers intensified... Now all in unison shouting "The Black Wolf!" or "The Wolf of Gallia" alongside other welcoming, friendly cheers. Gallian Regulars watched the show with a hint of surprise, while the Sniper simply moved back to join her squad. Hiller gave a thumbs up to the woman and Mike gave a respectful salute, while she simply nodded to both of them... Ragna watched her pass... Probably going somewhere quiet. He'd go and find her soon.


	7. Vasel:Taking the Bridge

Marina sat, gazing upon the river in the quietest spot she could find, on the side of the riverbank. As the US Army Engineer Corps prepared to build pontoon bridges below, to allow the safe passage of armored vehicles and infantry to the other side, she simply sat there, content with listening to the running water of Vasel river rush by her. She was curled up in a ball, looking out to the murky water. The sun also began to set on the city of Vasel as the US Troops also set up more sniping posts in buildings above... She heard a pair of footsteps approach her, but didn't turn to see who it was...

Ragna sat down next to the girl too, before asking "Something on your mind?" as he too looked at the American GIs working their asses off to get them a safe way across the water. Marina shook her head as a Higgins Boat moved past them to scout out the upper areas of the river. The GIs gave salutes to the two Gallians sitting by the riverside. Above them, Shermans' MGs began to rattle once again as tracers flew through the dim, fading light of the sun.

"I'd believe you if you weren't sitting here alone, curled up and staring at water." Ragna quipped, looking to her. The sniper girl sighed and the half-breed Darcsen noted "It about the fame you suddenly got from our GI pals?" before his grin widened as he saw her give a light nod. Ragna spoke again, calmly "I know you're not used to fame and such, Marina, but hey... You just pulled something that must've seemed impressive to every GI here. You did probably save a lot of them from sniper-related deaths. So take it with a grain of salt from me, since we don't know each-other that well, but I think these guys actually respect you. If you tell them you don't want all the fame, they'll probably leave you to your own."

The girl turned her gaze to meet the boy's. He gave her a smile, patted her on the shoulder, then said "C'mon. I'm betting Welkin will want us to move out as soon as the Pontoon bridge is done." before standing up and extending his hand... For all it was worth, this guy seemed incredibly calm and, well, his words did help there... She took his hand and stood up too, then followed him back to the squad.

GI Teams and Tank crews were gathered with the rest of the Third Regiment. A US Captain going by the name of Koller, began explaining the plan just as Marina and Ragna joined. He looked to them, then nodded and said "Corporals, good to have you both with your squad. We were just about to begin briefing." before nodding to them. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Captain James Koller, US Armed Forces, 29th Infantry Div, Able Company. Our unit and Regiment 3, Militia, will be working together once again to help pacify the Imperial presence on the other side of the river."

He pointed to a photograph taken from the sky above by P47s, with enemy positions outlined in red marker, then said "Aerial Photographs done by the Fifty-Sixth Air Group, those supporting us high above with rockets and bombs from their beautiful flying machines, gave us a pretty clear-cut view of the target area of Regiment 3 and of our Division. We will be hitting shoreside via Pontoon bridges built by the Engineer Corps of both nations, followed in by Sherman tanks, a Pershing and Squad 7's tank, named Edelweiss, tonight at 21:00 hours. The driver of the Edelweiss and sister to the Lieutenant of Squad 7, corporal Isara Gunther, is helping build the bridges on which we will be walking this evening, so remember to thank her before mounting your tanks. Our job is two-fold. Objective One:Secure the bridgehead and the bridge controls as to allow further crossing of Allied forces against the Imperial troops and to secure the route to the Gallian Capital of Randgriz. Objective two:Eliminate all Imperial forces in the city and prevent any reinforcements that may come in from retaking the bridge controls. It is a simple operation, boys and girls. We will have artillery support from this shore, multiple tanks and the rest of the 56th AG's aircraft. Any questions?"

A Tank crewman raised his hand.

"Go ahead, Phillips." The Captain nodded.

"Aye, sir... Anybody know who the fuck the reporter is?" He asked, pointing back to a woman with blonde hair, glasses, blue eyes, a white shirt and brown pants with straps, as well as a pair of boots. She had a camera, with which she'd just taken a photograph of the entire gathered unit, grinning widely. She lowered the camera under the gazes of all soldiers, then walked up to the Captain and gave a mock salute.

"Sir, to answer your Tanker's question, I'm Irene Ellet. Reporter for the Gallian Broadcast Station and I own a little freelance paper on the side." The woman grinned, extending her hand "I'm here to make reports on our foreign allies and Militiamen doing the Regular Army's job better than them. And by personal request, I've asked to be embedded to Squad 7, to get some news fresh off the battlefield."

Captain Koller looked over to Captain Varrot, who shrugged, then sighed and said "Alright, Ellet... You're staying with me and the Company Headquarters for now. You can get your interviews after the battle. Unit dismissed, get to your tanks!" before showing the woman to follow him. She walked behind him, jovial. As Squad 7 gathered up, Mike and Hiller joined up with them, weapons in hand. Seemingly, both went for the Thompson SMG this time.

" _Arise, Gallian Boys, defend your fatherland!_ " was sung over the radio nearby from one of the troops...

"What the hell was that?" Mike asked.

"That's the Farewell of Anthold. A marching song for the Gallian Revolutionary Army, when we seceded from the Empire." Matt said, grinning. "Trying to rouse up the boys for the attack, I'm guessing." He then looked to the trooper who played it. She gave a nod, the young Darcsen woman did. Matt walked to her, then asked her "What's your name, Private?"

"Lynn, sir. I'm a Shocktrooper with Squad 7." The woman saluted. She stood up, then readied her MAGS M1 SMG and said "I'll join the squad and wait for orders." to which Matt gave her a nod while she walked away. As the group formed up, night had fully fallen now. American troops, PT Boats, Tanks and Gallian Militia readied themselves for a river crossing. Edelweiss and the Dragoon, Matt's personal tank, led the column across to the pontoon bridges... Welkin looked back, nodded to everyone, then battened down the hatch of his tank and went in first. As the tanks traversed in a column, a wailing sound came from behind them...

Land Mattresses... Welkin looked back to see the multi-launch rocket systems, manned by two men, fire the deafening cascade of projectiles. Three of them let out a near-constant wail of hellfire as the troops advanced and the sky above was covered in an arching array of rockets, coming down upon almost randomized points of a large, predetermined area... Screams and cries for help, though muffled, could be heard as the skyline ahead lit aflame...

"My God..." Alicia murmured as they marched beside the tanks...

"The Yanks are terrifying..." Rosie voiced everyone's thoughts. A few GIs laughed silently behind the Sevens, some of which shuddered. Mike, Hiller, Ragna and another couple of friend of Matt's and Welkin's who went by the name of Wolfe and Kai led the unit forward beside the tanks. The tidal wave of missiles seemed to whine on for almost the 30 minutes that the crew took to cross the river.

Finally reaching solid ground again, the Infantry scattered up and over a small hill that led to the top of the riverbank, then took cover beside the stone railing. Rosie was first, followed by Hiller and Mike, both of which readied their SMGs to fire. The fire ahead illuminated much of their targets... A dozen or so Imperial troops, wondering what the fuck happened while they wandered aimlessly in the open boulevard. Mike looked back, waving the others forward, then pointed his SMG while the GIs and Gallians aimed weapons too... And he grinned, tightening the grip on his SMG... 3... 2... 1...

Hell...

A hundred rounds escaped the barrels of the weapons within the first few seconds. Those dozen Imps had a choice to either run and hide, or to drop dead thanks to the bullets. It was a split-second decision not a lot of them got to make. Shock Troops of the Gallians' traversed across the road under cover, with Rosie in the lead, firing her SMG as she advanced. Mike jumped over the wall, racked the bolt of his SMG and once again fired in bursts, while Hiller fired full-auto, under the boy's covering fire.

The Edelweiss and Dragoon came over just as more Imp Troops, this time joined by tanks, poured into the boulevard. An AT round from Edelweiss sent a wreck tumbling back, a flaming heap of steel, while a second tank fired its short main gun. The round bounced off the Edelweiss' front plate and Dragoon snapped off a shot instantly toward the tank that fired. The shell missed by inches, giving ample time for the tank to return fire while two more of its brothers joined in. Coming in from the side and onto the main road, a Sherman Easy Eight fired its 50 cal at the advancing Imperial troops, while GIs followed it close behind.

A pair of GIs were cut down by an Imp tank's Machine Gun. Another was hit by shrapnel from the detonation of an HE Shell and fell to the floor, grabbing the gash in his throat. A rocket flew in from behind and detonated... One GI with a Bazooka scowled as his loader put in a fresh round, then aimed it at the tank before it could turn its turret. He yelled back "CLEAR BACKBLAST!" as the GIs and Gallians scattered. He nodded, then fired. The rocket punched through the front plating and blew inside with enough force to push the tank back.

Wordless as they fought, SMGs, Garands, Carbines, Gallian-M1s and Lances bellowed and barked. The Mattresses had quietened their hail of projectiles while the troops advanced. The Allied tanks made it onto the boulevard, forming a perimeter as the Allied units pushed on through. Rosie grinned as she saw Marina join them, carrying a different type of rifle... An American rifle.

"M1903 Springfield..." Mike said from beside her, smiling.

"More my style." Marina nodded.

"It fits you fine, Corporal Wulfstan." The Paratrooper nodded, before shouldering his Thompson and blasting away at any infantry he saw. Marina took off and set herself up in as elevated a position as she could find, then chambered a .30-06 round, shouldering the scoped, bolt-action rifle and picking out targets as they advanced from the blazing fire, trying to get away with their lives. Her first kill was the officer commanding the camp. A clean headshot.

A Pershing's main gun roared and a round punched through a wrecked building, blasting apart an Imperial Light Tank as the shot hit side-on. Another pair of infantrymen pushed forward under cover of the tanks' MGs and emptied the mags of their BARs into an Imperial squad as they ran to join the battle. One of them answered with a grenade that missed its pin... For a while...

One of the two gunners lost his right leg. The other's left arm was shattered by the grenade, enough so that the 29th's Company Medic and Fina had to run up to check on both men and drag them out under cover of a dozen or so guns. Marina's rifle barked once again and another Imperial officer slumped onto the ground. As another group of tanks arrived, crew wide awake from the sudden strike, an American rocket struck the lead tank. And a P47 swung by overhead, letting loose its 8 50s in a stream of scarlet tracers.

The advance through the rubble-filled town was filled with small pockets of resistance. The Gallians and US Troops pushed from house to house, clearing as they went, while the tanks and aircraft dealt with what vehicles were active on-duty. Walking into the bombed-out square of the place, the Seventh Platoon found themselves face-to-face with an Imperial motorpool full of Light tanks, with a Medium Tank squad to boot... And on the right, a burning house that once served as the Fuel and Ammo Dump for the tanks...

"C'mon with me, kiddos!" Rosie said to the Shock Troopers and Scouts behind her, then pounced out of cover, firing her SMG. She and the team ran forward, Alicia joining them in the moment with a darker-skinned girl by the name of Freesia and a glasses-wearing blondie by the name of Juno. Lynn and Rosie were leading the charge, moving from rubble to rubble and using it as cover. The MAGS M1s barked, joined by Thompson SMGs and Browning Automatic Rifles. A duet of Americans hauled an M1 Browning .30 cal LMG. Going prone, mounting the gun on its ankle-height tripod and loading the MG, the duo opened fire, with one of the GIs feeding the weapon...

Imperial Anti-Tank Lancers stepped into the open field as a Sherman rolled up, its 50 pouring it on them... A lance's rocket flew into the tank's front plate and detonated, denting the front plating. A misfire... The others wanted to help. They moved to outflank the tank as an Imperial sniper took out the crewman manning the MG. His corpse stumbled and fell to the side, a bullet lodged in his skull where his right eye was meant to be. The tank's Co-Axial MG opened fire just as an Imperial Lancer went to the side of the Sherman, aimed his rocket... Then fired.

The round punched through the side of the vehicle and hit the thin armor. It blew inside, with the ammo igniting. The pressure inside sent the turret of the tank flying sky-high, a lucky shot of the Imperial anti-tank unit, but the man who killed the tank didn't survive for long, with one bullet punching through the side of his head, courtesy of Ragna. The final Lancer got killed by a burst of SMG fire from Rosie.

"Go, go, go! Press the advantage!" Mike called out, letting out fire from his SMG as to cover the advancing GIs and Gallians.

"Gotta secure the square and blow these Imp tanks to hell before we move any further, Sarge!" Rosie yelled to the two Americans. Mike turned to Largo and waved him forward, then said to the man as he walked up "If your AT 'Lances' can punch through these tanks, blow them up! If you find even a little bit of fuel next to them, blow it up with them! It's our safest bet on eliminating them! This is an entire Imperial Light Tank Squadron!"

"We got the demo work, kid! You guard the Scouts!" Largo said, shouldering his Lance as the Edelweiss, Dragoon and a Pershing advanced. Said Pershing's main gun thundered, kicking up dust and obliterating the wall of a building in which the Sniper resided. Edelweiss' gun sent a round down and an Imperial Tank tumbled to the floor. It was manned... But not anymore, now left a burning husk with a gaping hole through the side.

A GI stood up to fire at an advancing Imp squad of Shock Troops. Another Sniper picked him off, a direct headshot through his steel helmet that rang through the sky... A second GI was taken out by the same Sniper... And then a third. Marina zeroed in on the shots, even under all of the gunfire, through noise and calculation of Angle. From a safe spot, hidden within one of the rubble-filled, darkened buildings, she shouldered her sniper rifle... She looked through multiple windows on a building opposite of hers, just across to the Bridge Boulevard... And noticed it. The faint glint of a scope... Amateur.

She snapped off a shot. The round cracked and the glint of the scope vanished as what was now a corpse fell, dead, to the ground. She re-chambered the rifle, dropping a still-hot .30-06 Casing to the floor, before standing up and moving to relocate and assist the push down the boulevard. Several Imperial Tanks, left uncrewed and with fuel off to the side, detonated in bright blue fireballs as the Lancers and GIs advanced, with Engineers tailing behind them and the Edelweiss and Dragoon at the forefront. Turning the corner to the left ,Welkin heard a call...

" _Attention, all Allied Forces on the ground. This is Big Sky, P47 pilot for the 56th. We got incoming. I spy about a division's worth of Imperial tanks and trucks coming toward the bridge. Suggest mopping up the remaining imps._ " The pilot spoke through Wireless as he flew on overhead, his MGs barking. Multiple Imp troopers ahead on the boulevard died or were wounded by the gunfire.

"C'mon, Juno, Freesia!" Alicia yelled to the girls behind her as they charged under friendlies' cover, bounding across the open boulevard toward the bridge controls. Freesia grinned, then yelled "Dance to this song, boys!" before propping out and throwing a grenade into a squadron of soldiers ducked behind sandbags... Before they could react, they were blown apart by the explosion and the trio of scouts rushed inside. Only to clear out the entire room in seconds... As Alicia took position by the bridge controls, all allied units cleared out of the Bridge area and let the Imp division move across... At that exact moment, Alicia pulled the lever and the bridge opened. Whatever Imperial units were on it soon fell into the freezing, tumultuous waters of Vasel, drowning with tank and vehicle alike, to the cheers of the Allied units.

As Alicia walked out to Juno and Freesia, she said "I'd say that's a job well done." with a smile.

"Agreed." Freesia gave a nod, slinging her rifle on her back.

"Let's go join the squad now, shall we?" Juno offered, arranging her glasses on the bridge of her nose. And to that, the other two gave Juno answering nods. Above them, US Planes flew in low to make sure the entire area was secure... The Bridge was safe, but more Imperial troops fought on this side of Vasel. At least now, the Gallians and US wouldn't have to rely on Pontoons to get themselves across. American units began pouring over the bridge, followed by the rest of Reg. 3 Militia's vehicles... And a whole host of armaments of the US's.


	8. Myne:The Atlantic Saipan

_**Gallian Sea...**_

The Coasties had given the Marines PT Boats. The Navy?

The Navy gave them AMTRACS.

The rugged and lightly-armored Amphibious vehicles of the 6th Marines, 'The Saipan Suicide Battalion', sat aboard their amphibious armored vehicles that had launched from over the last remaining bit of Gallian shore toward a target island next to the port city of Anthold, in anticipation for Operation:Hammer, the US's and Gallia's joint attempt in retaking the port. It would open up the US's ability to deploy Naval Forces... Estimates showed it'd take a couple of weeks. Saipan was worse...

Marines of the 6th readied rifles and watched the isle ahead of them emerge... It was a large, mountainous isle, chock-full of forestry and with some structures in-between. Above them, P47s flew in, unloading their rocket payload into the beaches... An Am-Tank fired its 75 and Machine Guns echoed. The messy Gallian Sea became a target for Imperial Pillboxes and AT Guns situated within the lush forests... This may just be Saipan.

One of the first PT Boats on the front right of the formation detonated in a golden blaze, its crew, manning guns and torpedo launchers, carbonized the moment the AT shell struck the fuel tank. MG Fire finally came in and was returned promptly by the fast-moving PT Boats in the form of 40mm Bofors Auto-Cannons. The shells exploded on and near the beach as the Marines lurched forward, their AMTRACS and AMTANKs trying to pick up speed. One of the snub-nosed cannons of the tanks had time to fire before a flurry of 12,7mm rounds punched through its slanted front. Crew inside were cut to ribbons.

The first AMTRACs made it to the beach and began unloading Marines. Garands pinged and MGs went off the moment the Marines managed to disembark as the AMTRACS pulled back and the AMTANKS stayed on the beach, providing fire support... An AT Gun on a raised hillside fired and a shell just narrowly missed a Marine's head. Their objectives were clear as they advanced. The Isle of Myne was a militarized fortress island with a small civilian population still trapped within its hillside... This _was_ Saipan.

Marines poured out of the vehicles, rifles roaring, Thompsons crackling and AMTANKs firing main guns. Rocket screamed off a P47 into the thicket. White Phosphorus burned trees and whatever infantry and tanks lay beneath. M1 Carbines in hand, a platoon of Marines surged to a small ditch ahead of the main beach. An AMTANK exploded behind them, its armored hull surprisingly not resistant to Imperial AT Guns. Short 75s vs Short 75. Whoever got the shot off first won.

A Marine dropped, belly-first, into the ditch, then said "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?"

"Imps got the fucking drop on us!" Another Marine spouted, firing his Thompson blindly over into the shrubs and trees of the island... It was Saipan but European. A stick grenade flew into the ditch and one of the Marines swore, while their commanding officer picked it up and hurled it over their cover while MG bullets screamed overhead. More Marines disembarked from the AMTRACS and joined up near the ditch as Mortar shells began to fall on the beach. One AMTRAC's troop tray detonated with the 24 men still inside. It burst aflame...

"WHAT ARE WE EVEN FIGHTING, SARGE!?" A younger Marine asked, holding onto his helmet as the heavier shells began to fall unto the beach, causing more and more casualties for the Marines. He yelled again "THESE DON'T SEEM LIKE IMP PUSHOVERS!" as the crackling of tracks against dirt sounded off... They looked over the lip of the trench and saw it... An Imperial Light Tank appeared. Rotating its snub-nosed 75, the tank aimed for one of their own...

But it burst aflame as a Bazooka punched through its forward hull. 50s thundered and a pair of AMTRACS moved in with another AMTANK. The roads here were wide enough for two vehicles to traverse, but nobody would risk advancing inland... So the Marines took positions with the AMTANKs. Aircraft flew in, bombs dropped and guns roared... Forests burst ablaze with white fire as the Air Corps cleared them a path... But the Marines awaited for a similar situation to Saipan.

As combat on the beaches died down, the Marines took position, aiming rifles and preparing for the worst to come. Finally, the Army Air Corps, not engaged in any gun-runs but rather in scouting, had time to take in their surroundings. A tall castle resided on the far hill of the place, manned by dozens of guns and hundreds of men. Meanwhile, forestry covered most of the rest of the place, with small hills and depressions taking form all around. Few Pillboxes, if any, could be spotted, but at crossroads there were enemy positions and some of the cleared areas were easy to spot as encampments for the Imps...

As night began to fall and the Marines set up their own camps, soldiers kept their eyes open. Their twitchy behavior was a relic from Saipan and all the sleepless nights there... The Marines of the 2nd and 6th hoped that hell wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass here, but knowing their luck... At least here it was a tolerable temperature. As one Marine walked to his foxhole, Thompson in hand, a crackle was heard in the bushes. He turned about and brought his Thompson to bear, finger on the trigger...

... The first shot of the evening rung. The Marine collapsed, Thompson clattering to the floor as an Imperial soldier, clad in a black armor, thicker and more padded than the others, emerged with a Bayonet affixed to their gun. She took off her helmet, to reveal short, blonde hair and holding an SMG peered over the stunned Americans. Her gun barrel still smoking as her comrades emerged from the lines, she yelled "FOR THE EMPIRE! FOR THE EMPEROR!" raising her SMG, she cried out again "CHARGE, MEN OF THE EMPIRE! CHARGE!"

And out of the shrubs, as if by the hand of god, hundreds of Black Ghosts emerged, rifles and SMGs in hand. The Americans had composed themselves just in time as, from their foxholes, MGs, Rifles and mortars began to engage. Explosions lit up the night sky and the battlefield was enlightened by 3, sun-bright flares fired from Grenade Launchers. Marines saw what to shoot as the Imperials surged forth, their guns thundering, SMGs roaring...

The Imperial attack broke over the first line of the 6th... AMTRAC M2 Brownings roared and Marines hit up their on .30 cals, firing with impunity into the wall of black armor. Imperial soldiers collapsed, bloodied and Marines woke up with Bayonets to their hips or hearts. The woman leading the assault was in her mid-20s and moved like an athlete. Bashing a Marine's head in with the butt of her SMG, she raised it and fired a burst into an American position with an MG, killing the operator, before the ammo feeder died to two shots from rifles.

She waved her men forward, urging them on...

The woman's name was Captain Valeria 'The Iron-Blooded Orphan' Heckler... Commander of the Hundred-Ninety-Third Imperial Assault Regiment. A veteran of the Empire's military and a deeply-religious Yggdist, she had said her prayer to the Valkyrur before tonight's charge. Firing her SMG as she advanced, the woman ran a man through with her bayonet, pinning him to the floor in a foxhole... She looked up to see an American's gun barrel. And the fact she was staring down it...

The blonde rolled out of the way and drew her pistol, before shooting the American in the face and standing up. Her bayonet bloody, she looked for another target... Ahead of her, she saw her troopers falling to headshots and looked forward to see a man with two sidearms and a cigarette in his mouth firing away at them. Behind him was a line of American Marines with rifles in tow, sapping away at her men's numbers...

She was ordered to charge in by the General commanding the Isle. If need be, to die... She stood up from a crouch and charged toward the officer with the pistol. She dodged his first shot and got close enough to send a burst toward the man herself, which he somehow didn't get hit by. She raised her bayonet and aimed it for his throat, taking a stab, 'fore the man crossed his pistols in front of his face, deflecting the strike. He pistol-whipped the woman in the jaw, sending blood and teeth to the floor. She recovered and doubled over, aiming her SMG toward the man. As she emptied her SMG into him, he too emptied his own pistols into her... He had the rank pinions of a Sergeant.

She saw him stand his ground... And she did too. Both fired away as they moved toward each other, until each gun clicked empty. She dropped her weapon to the floor and, despite the multiple, bleeding wounds in her abdomen, drew her shoulder-mounted knife and charged forward with a shrill, piercing battle cry... "AVE IMPERIUM!" and with those two words, the woman, bleeding from six .45 ACP wounds and from her mouth, stabbed into the American officer's gut... And he returned the favor with a knife right to the chest...

As the two fell to their knees, face-to-face, the Sergeant was grinning... He spoke with a New Yorker Italian accent "For a broad... You've got some fucking aim..."

"... Not so bad yourself, Gallian..." She gave him a toothy grin in response as gunfire continued to echo around them. "May the Valkyria have you in their watch...

"I'm not Gallian... I've got my own God, thank you very much... And may He be kind to you..." He chuckled, before he slumped onto the dirt and sand... The woman closed her eyes too, letting herself fall where she may. She noticed the flag and the cross draped around the man's neck now... The flag was red, white and blue with Stars and Stripes... And the Cross had a man on it.

The Captain and her Colt-toting opponent, Sergeant Mack Ricci, resided on the beachside of the Isle of Myne, their corpses bleeding their last drops in the sands one fought to defend, the other, capture. The Imperial Regiment, seeing one of their commanders felled and probably hundreds of their own men slew in front of them, began to retreat as day broke... Early in the morning, American troops were left to count the dead and wounded...

"Jesus H. Christ..." murmured John Reaver, Marine Commander and currently acting chief of the Myne invasion group... At least a sixth of their effective was wiped out, with dozens more missing under the artillery barrage. Sat in his foxhole, the man read the numbers by lamplight as the sun had just barely begun to lazily rise from its covers. The Imps had probed them last night... He knew a bigger attack would come... He looked to his XO and said "Start mobilizing the men and telling them to prep for another counterattack tonight..." And he got a nod, before the kid rushed off. He then turned to his radioman and asked "What's the status on those Shermans we asked for?"

"Engaged somewhere else, sir... We'll have to make do with Bazookas and the AMTANKs' guns for now." The Radioman said. Reaver gave a sigh, then nodded and looked out toward the treeline. They could damn well use those Shermans to clear a path. AMTANKs can't really cut through fucking trees, can they? Standing up, he walked toward the map of the island as aircraft flew their second turn above... For scout duty, of course.

"No news on other aircraft?" Reaver sighed.

"Not for now, sir, no... We're gonna go in without air or armored support, but thankfully not that blind." His Radioman noted. The man shook his head, then nodded. Up next came a big push:Taking the small Piers within the fishing town of Halla. It was a couple klicks west of them, so the trip was gonna be short. If they survived tonight's attack, it'd probably be just their luck.

* * *

 ** _Imperial HQ, Myne_**

"Captain Heckler's assault failed!?" One of the Imperial officers spoke up in both shock and anger. "They hit the landing zone with enough forces to easily drive off anything the Gallians could throw at us!"

The Imperials didn't expect the Gallians to be foolish enough to launch an amphibious landing on the island with how many defensive positions they had set up prior to their arrival. They had made the island into a fortress, able to take assaults from the Gallians and their remaining naval forces and turn the shoreline red with blood. The defenses would be enough to hold against any advance they could attempt and Captain Heckler would be able to finish off any remaining enemy forces and sweep them back into the sea.

However, they didn't expect that the Gallians would have been able to hold against the assault.

"No matter, they just got lucky tonight." Another Imperial officer spoke up. "We still have plenty of men left and we can hit them with another counterattack later. We must have at least taken taken a quarter or more of their forces from the offensive so we just prepare another assault soon enough. These backwards Gallians and their incompetent Nobles are nothing more then pushovers compared to our forces. Besides, we still have over 7,000 soldiers and 350 tanks here on the island. We can assembled a much larger assault force and eventually we will push them into the sea."

"Well, it seems quite like the Gallians are actually under a competent leader this time around." Another officer spoke up. "What I'm more interested in is how the hell do they have advanced fighter aircraft in their position? They shouldn't have been able to since they only have a few factories under their control in southern Gallia and none have produced planes such as what has been attacking us from above."

While the other officers were debating as to what was going on, 35 year old Colonel Zan Orlov looked over both the battlemap for Myne and for the whole of Gallia as he looked over what news from the front he had received. Unlike his more arrogant and prideful countrymen, he was an effective officer who kept a level head and didn't care much for the matters of state. The blonde haired, browned eyed Imperial couldn't help but wonder about how things had begun turning against their forces along with what seemed like strange reports from the defeated forces that fought in Vasel.

According to said sources, the Gallians had been supported by a completely male force of soldiers which had a few firearms and even tanks that resembled the kind used by the Atlantic Federation, those that they had received from the United States of Vinland, the country across the sea whose industrial might was the only one in the world that could match or even surpass the Empire's. However, the Vinlanders, from what he knew of them weren't at war yet with the Empire (he certainly would have heard something along those lines from Imperial High Command from Schwartzgrad) and had mainly been sending convoys of war material and supplies and military advisers to assist the Federation in improving their military forces as they've launched Operation Northern Cross, the offensive to take Schwartzgrad and end the fighting quickly.

However, the same aircraft and small boats that both the unknowns in Vasel and these soldiers used weren't like anything that Vinland had made and proved effective in bloodying the Imperials in Vasel during both phases of the battle. Plus, while the second officer was probably correct in that his forces may outnumber the attackers, most were conscripts, ones that weren't as well equipped as the regulars which guarded the fort he was in. If the battle got too intense or they suffered too many casualties, they would fall apart. In contrast, these soldiers were experienced, appeared to be battle hardened, and were better equipped then Gallian units (especially their Marine Corps since Nobles like Damon saw them as pointless and gave them gear that dated back to EW1).

"What if these aren't Gallians?" Zan said aloud to his officers. "They're far more disciplined and seem to be more experienced in battle then most Gallian forces. The fact that they fought so fiercely during the assault and were able to beat it back could give the impression they have fought against similar attacks before."

"If these people aren't the Gallians, Colonel," One of the officers spoke up, "then just who are we fighting?" The officers were unnerved since they were aware of the Allies Gallia had alongside it due to the alliances they had made. Any serious force that could assist the Gallians could make the Empire suffer heavy losses and make them fight a two front war which would help to wear down their forces. Even worse, if Gallia's allies joined, they would be fighting double the production value of the Gallian Military, which was not good. Gallians could bring more reinforcements...

"I'm not sure." Orlov said. "At first I was thinking it was Vinland, who may have finally sent their armies to fight, but it wouldn't make sense for them since they haven't declared war on us yet. The tanks these unknowns have are similar to the Minuteman Tank that the Feds have been using on mass against our armored forces but they have some better armor and longer barreled cannons, which would easily knock out the Fatherland Medium Tanks and even the Light and Heavy tanks with ease... If reports are to be believed. Plus, from what I have been told from reports, they seem to have anti tank weapons that are full on rockets which Vinland has only been testing out but are not like the Lances any military force uses here in Europa."

"Are you saying we are dealing with people that are similar to Vinland but may have more advanced technology and weapons sir?" The first officer that spoke up said.

"That maybe the case," Zan said with a frown.

"Blast it all!" One of the officers said aloud. "Just what has Prince Maximilian gotten us into!? This was supposed to be an easy conquest due to how under prepared Gallia was and the many mistakes Georg Von Damon has made and allowed us to exploit. Now we'll have to send more manpower to deal with the Gallians and these unknowns and that could affect the our forces on the Federation Front."

Some of the other Officers silently agreed. While they supported the invasion outright, they knew that this could turn into a repeat of the Imperial invasion of Gallia during the First European War which ended up turning into a stalemate due in large part to the efforts of men like Belgen Gunther. If that was the case, then it could mean that the Federation could exploit this for their own offensive and cause the Empire to expend more resources to counter. While many saw the vast amounts of Ragnite that Gallia had as a prize worth taking, some questioned why Maximilian was so fixated on doing so.

"Prepare our forces for a second counterattack within a few days. I want a much larger infantry force with a full armored force to be ready to make a massive push against these unknowns." Zan ordered. "We must hold this island for long as possible as this could turn into a staging ground for these unknowns to use. We need to use our armored forces as best as possible to support the Conscripts and make them bleed."

The room was then filled with replies of "Yes sir," and "Understood Colonel," as they dispersed. Zan looked down at the map in front of him and prepared himself to fight against an enemy that could spell disaster for the Empire if they didn't take the threat seriously. All the while wondering if Maximilian in particular would see the urgency of this situation.

* * *

 ** _That same night_**

 ** _Fort Aramanthine_**

Following the victory at Vasel, the Regulars and Militia forces that stayed in the city began to set up defenses and prepare for any future offensive operation from the city along with the Americans. The Militia soldiers, seeing first hand just how skilled the Americans were in battle along with the type of firepower they could bring to the battlefield, knew that with strong defenses that Imps would be hard pressed to retake the city or take the initiative back form their defeat. USAAF aircraft were flying above and far out from the city to keep an eye on Imperial movement and were equipped to deal with any attack and weaken it before they were able to get close. As more and more US soldiers, tanks, planes, and small ships kept coming through the gate, this meant that any casualties that they had would be replaced eventually.

"Wait, they seriously made an assault on Myne?" Faldio Laanzat, the leader of Squad 1 said to Welkin, Isara, Matt and his friends, Alicia and even Largo and Rosie who were all in the same room.

"Trust me Faldio, I had similar thoughts, when my dad told me that." Matt said simply. The young heir to the Siegfried household was a bit confused himself at the idea that the Americans would assault Myne, which had been taken by the Imperials during their offensive after overpowering the small garrison there. Since the Americans had more soldiers coming into the fray, it did make sense in Matt's mind to send more soldiers elsewhere, since they couldn't stay on one front the whole time. Of course, he knew full well that some Gallian nobles would hate working with foreigners due to some being very isolationist (much like how Baldren Gassenarl was in that he believed Gallia didn't need any help and was heavily against the Alliances Gallia had made over the years due to the work of Noble Houses like the Siegfrieds) or racist to the point where they think that any help is utterly pointless and think they can't do anything and are useless (much like how Damon could see them).

Of course, he wondered for a bit as to why the US would focus on taking Myne when he could see them attacking Imperial forces along the coastline and outflanking them.

"I don't get it, why would they focus on taking Myne when the Imperials could be massing for a counterattack?" Rosie said. "Wouldn't sending away soldiers to deal with an unimportant location just seem idiotic?"

"My guess?" Matt said. "They could be using it as a future staging ground for their naval forces."

"How in the flying hell are they supposed to bring in ships?" Rosie said with disbelief on her face. "Sure they have weird as hell gate that allows them to bring in reinforcements but I can't see them bring in huge ships from that thing. Those small attack boats work just fine, but destroyers, or even battleships? That's definitely not happening unless the thing can get bigger, somehow."

"I don't know," Largo said, "maybe they don't want the Imps to have a base they could launch a rear attack on us from."

"Well you're not wrong on that Sergeant."

The Gallians heard the gruff voice behind them. And they turned to see none other then General Chesty Puller himself behind them. They all quickly saluted the man out of respect for his rank as he returned the gesture. "At ease." He said to the Gallians.

"So, General, sir?" Kai said, "did you have to send your Marines to take Myne because you think it is better to get something out of the way and not have to deal with it later?"

"Of course, if these Imps have even half a brain, they can definitely use that island to start building up their forces. Hell, they could form a Naval Base there in a short bout of time, considering their size and resources."

"No offense, sir," Faldio said with a bit skepticism in his tone, "but why send so many in the first place? Wouldn't the Central Imperial forces be a more pressing concern?"

"I understand what you are saying there, Lieutenant Landzaat, but, where you see that Myne isn't a big deal to attack, I see something that could be a thorn in our side." Chesty said.

"It's to give your navy and coast guard a place they can operate out of?" Ragna said. "Matt guessed as such before you showed up."

"Bullseye." Chesty said. "We have our scientists looking at the Gate we found and seeing if we can't get some of our larger ships here. Besides, from what I hear, your own Navy is barely hanging on and only fighting in hit and run attack due to some of the more idiotic Nobles in command sending them out to get killed. We figured that our ships would be able to take care of things while your people try to bring your navy back up."

Rosie, listening to what Chesty had said, soon realized their plan was in fact what she thought was impossible, was stunned upon what he had just said.

"So I'm guessing you sent your boys to Myne so you can show the Imps how they can take an island?" Axel said with a smirk.

"That's right." Chesty said with a smirk. "While according to what we now the Imps might outnumber the force I sent to take the Island, they mostly are conscripts. Against my marines they'll soon find themselves in one hell of a fight."

"Are they really that skilled General?" Isara said while tilting her head.

"Let's just say we already fought our own war where we are from and most of our men have experience that the Imps wouldn't even come close to dealing with." Chesty said with a smirk.

"My people know how to make our forces spread out and operate effectively." He continued. "Sure it makes since to have us focus on punching further into your country and push back the Imperial forces we have been fighting even more. However, it works better for us to focus on lying the ground work for future offensives with the support of naval and aerial forces. Taking Myne for us wouldn't just be getting a naval base, but the island also works since we could make an airfield for our bombers to operate out of to give heavier air support for our forces and to deal blows to the Imperial Navy if they try and launch an attack along the coastline and attempt their own amphibious landing. Plus I already spoke with MacAuliffe and Patton and we figure our boys could help out on the other fronts."

"Sure that the Regulars and Militia there would certainly appreciate the help." Largo said while crossing his arms. "However, I wouldn't put it past most of the Nobles in charge being against such help in the first place."

"Especially with families like the Gassenarls, freaking prideful as hell bigots." David said with disgust in his voice.

"Well if they have any complaints, they can either take up with us or shove it up their asses." Chesty stated as bluntly as a Marine generally would. "We couldn't give less of a damn what those prideful imbeciles think about foreigners helping them, since we have a reason to be here. If any of those morons, especially Damon try to stop us or do something stupid, they will regret it and lose what power they have since we do not tolerate BS of any kind."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't expect Damon to try anything, since you and the other two Generals could actually kick his ass without a problem." Ragna said with a smirk.

Chesty smirked at the Darcsen's comment. "You're sure as hell correct on the front Corporal."

' _Plus there's also the fact that we have begun to make up new tactics for our forces in the field to better deal with these Imps, as well to acquire certain supplies for the men._ ' The Marine General thought. Based on reports from Vasel, the heavy armor of Imperial Lancers proved an issue for US riflemen to deal with at certain ranges as well as the lucky shots that took out US tanks (which he guessed must have been earlier models that didn't have the wet storage to prevent them from going up in flames). Therefore, getting the rounds that would allow them to punch through said Lancer's armor and the getting the tanks that had the necessary protection to prevent the past events from occurring again.

* * *

 ** _Back on Myne... In the early morning..._**

MG Fire scattered an Imperial Platoon attempting to raid the Marines' encampment. Snipers focused fire and killed as many bastards as they could to thin out the numbers. The Marines had been receiving offshore supplies from C47s and from the few AMTRACs they could load with supplies back at base. PT Boats with torpedo mounts worked to keep enemy Naval reinforcements at bay... As reports'd come, one of the ships had sunk an enemy freighter hauling supplies earlier that evening.

A bird flew in low and dropped two cans of Napalm. The US Air Corps was testing out these items since the early dawn of World War 2... Well, sticky fire had quite the effect, clearing much of the foliage ahead and allowing the Marines to slowly creep up from the beach into the thick forests. AMTANKs led the way as the Platoons of soldiers crept up the beach, under constant harassment from mountainside artillery...

A Marine's M1 Garand barked and an Imp fell over, dead. Conscripts and mixed units of enemy Regulars...

The tanks moved in a diamond formation, with the Marines advancing behind them and inside the diamond itself. Two soldiers in each Platoon had been equipped with Flame Throwers for shrub clearing and the Pillboxes that needed to be burned inside out. Bazookas in tow, soldiers aimed to take out Imperial Light Tanks and whatever Mediums they could disable...

The rare anti-tank gun hidden in the bushes made a kill every so often from one of the AMTANKs, but the other vehicles and troops were quick to sweep it away... They wouldn't wait for any counterattack. They'd fuck them over now if they could. Taking a knee behind one of the AMTANKs, a Marine Corporal named Higgins held his M1 Carbine close, eyes down the sight and firing at anything he saw move while wearing steel plate armor.

"Yo, Higgs." His fellow Marine, one with a BAR and going by the nickname 'Jo', patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, Jo?" The Marine asked as two shots rang out and pinged on the armor of the AMTANK they hid behind. Higgins and Jo were quick to return fire, gunning down a Sniper that had done the mistake of standing up from his concealed position. Fuckin' dipshit Conscripts.

"Ya ever notice how many women seem to fight for Gallia?" Jo asked, gunning down another duet of Imps with a Machine Gun.

"... Yeah? What about it?" Higgins asked. "I mean, I get your point... Broads and all fighting on the Front Line, but we gotta account for two things here, Jo:They're a small kingdom facing these fuckers with their sheer horde mentality and they're in the Militia... I think few, if any female commanders exist in the Regular Gallian Army... Still, doesn't mean it ain't a tad weird."

"Are you two done making political commentary!?" Their Sergeant asked as he fired his Thompson.

"Yessir!" They answered.

"Then square up and let's fucking move! We gotta get deeper inland before the Imps come back with a vengeance!" He barked.

"Yessir!" The soldiers marched up to the line and swept the area ahead with their guns... Artillery detonated, planes flew, strafing runs were had and grenades blew. This was Saipan in all its bloody glory, just in the form of Europe. Two P47s swept in overhead, their combined 16 Fifty Cals cut swaths through the trees with extreme prejudice. Tonight would see the Americans under another assault... But for now, they were slowly making the push into Myne, every bullet fired wearing the name of an Imp.

Flamethrowers belched death as the US Assault reached a line of Pillboxes and grenades flew within the slits where the MGs fired from. Guns barked and bellowed and planes continued to fly overhead. The same ones as before... A few Imperials tried firing up at them with mounted MGs and even actually hit fuselage, but the rounds punched clean through or the armor stopped them, with no damage.

An American of Serb descent, a Serb flag wrapped around his shoulder, advanced beside his squad, holding an M1897 Trench Gun close and firing upon an advancing squad of Imps. He pummeled one in the mouth with the butt of the rifle, breaking his teeth, then stabbed him in the gut with the bayonet attached to the gun. Yanking the gun up, he pumped the pump and shouldered the shotgun, before letting it roar again.

A bomb punched clean through one of the blocks of concrete serving as a barricade toward a small village just at the bottom of the mountains and exploded, sending shards of concrete, wood and metal flying around the place in a brilliant detonation. A Marine's BAR roared and .30-06 punched through Imp Armor with disregard. Frag Grenades flew into whatever corner they could land into, blasting apart Imperial Troops. It was a slaughter.

Though the Imps, as Conscripted and fucked as they were, did put up one hell of a fight. Mounted MGs and Gatling Guns hit the American Lines from the ridges of the mountain and several Marines were felled by the gunshots. Snipers aimed to kill officers and engaged in duels with the American Counter-Snipers. 50 cals returned fire, but some of the gunners found themselves having to focus on multiple targets.

The echoing crescendo of Combat got closer to the Imperial-held Fort on the island... Close enough that the artillery inside of it could range in American Targets. In a terrible crossfire, Imperial artillery from atop the mountain, which was now under assault, fired in unison with the Fort artillery. The Americans had to scatter as fast as they could to avoid the artillery.

Swearing and contradicting orders soon faded for a more neatly arranged(and fucking angry) American counterattack up the mountain. Taking the paths and ladders oh-so-thoughtfully-built by the Imps, soldiers with Trench Guns, Grease Guns and Tommy Guns burst through their defenses and engaged them in close quarters. Artillery Hill, as it would come to be nicknamed... Would fall within hours, due to overwhelming American firepower at close range.

The Americans set up defenses for the night, readying rifles and grenades and anything that the PT Boats and AMTRACs could transport over for the upcoming charge... One prospect was the fight would last a good few weeks again. The Marines expected it to, but... They were gaining ground too fast for the Imps to stop them. Digging in, the Marines once again set up foxholes and Machine Guns... One more night of Hell.

* * *

 ** _AN:Many thanks to Blazblade for helping me with writing out the Commander of the Imperial base as well as the interactions between the Sevens and general Puller. You da man._**


End file.
